FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE REPORT PREFACE This report is based on data furnished by the Bureau of Reclamation's upper Columbia development office at Spokane, Wash., on November 1, 1955. It supersedes the June 1947 report by the Service on the east unit of the Greater Wenatchee project. The fish and wildlife resources are evaluated as they would have existed without the project and as they are expected to exist after development. Water for irrigation under the proposed plan would be pumped from seven separate places from the Columbia River. Chief Joseph Dam, constructed by the Corps of Engineers, is associated with this project for power purposes only. Inasmuch as this dam was evaluated in our report to the corps of October 1947, titled "A Preliminary Evaluation Report on Fish and Wildlife Resources in Relation to the Water Development Plan for the Proposed Foster Creek project, Washington," no fish and wildlife evaluation is made of the reservoir area. Power generated in the Federal system, including Chief Joseph Dam, apparently would be used to pump water and help pay construction costs for the Greater Wenatchee division. Also, because the irrigation water to be used in this project would have no appreciable effect on the flows of the Columbia River, neither the fishery nor the wildlife associated with the river are evaluated. The wildlife appraisal evaluates the 7 irrigation units, comprising 10,852 irrigable acres, and 12,655 acres of associated sagebrush rangelands which have been classified as nonirrigable. The Fish and Wildlife Service should be informed of any further alterations in the present scope of the project or method of operation so that their effects on fish and wildlife may be considered. Acknowledgment is made to the Washington State Department of Game for supplying information which has been used in the preparation of this report. INTRODUCTION Purpose of the project 1. The Greater Wenatchee division of the Chief Joseph Dam project is an irrigation project proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation that would irrigate 9,357 acres of presently dry land and would furnish an adequate water supply to 1,495 presently irrigated acres. Location of the project 2. The project units are located on benchlands along the Columbia River in north-central Washington near the cities of Brewster, Chelan, and Wenatchee. DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA 3. The drainage area for the Greater Wenatchee division, Chief Joseph Dam project, covers the greater portion of northeastern and central Washington. The watershed is characterized by mountainous 91 forested lands, farmlands, range, and river canyons. One of the principal features of the drainage area is the manmade Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River which, at normal pool level, backs water 150 miles to the international boundary. Chief Joseph Dam impounds water to the foot of Grand Coulee Dam located 51 miles upstream. 4. The climate along the Columbia River and its main tributaries changes greatly with elevation and location. In the immediate vicinity of the irrigation units--where sagebrush, dry-farmed grainlands, and small orchard-type tracts predominate---abundant sunshine and low precipitation prevail. The winters are moderately cold; summers are hot and dry. At the city of Wenatchee, which may be considered typical of the project as a whole, the average frost-free period of 173 days, covering a 26-year record, is from April 24 to October 14. Temperatures average 25.7° F. for January and 73° for July. The average annual precipitation over a 27-year period is 8.8 inches. PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT 5. The Greater Wenatchee division of the Chief Joseph Dam project would include 10,582 irrigable acres in 7 separate tracts. The names of the units and irrigable acreage in each are: North Pateros, 537; South Pateros, 1,100; Antoine Creek, 554; Howard Flat, 866; Bravs Landing, 1,255; East, 4,490; and Moses Coulee, 2,050. The locations of the units are shown on the attached general map. 6. A total of 188 second-feet of water for irrigation would be pumped from the Columbia River at the 7 separate sites as follows: North Pateros, 9; South Pateros, 18; Antoine Creek, 9; Howard Flat, 17; Brays Landing, 21; East, 76; and Moses Coulee, 38. All of the high-head pumping plants supplying water to the units would use power generated from the Federal system. 7. Within the project there would be two methods of operation: one method would have reservoirs with the water delivered under pressure for sprinkler irrigation; by the other method, there would be no reservoirs and the water would be delivered at low pressure for rill-type irrigation. For the North Pateros, South Pateros, Antoine Creek, Brays Landing, and East units, water would be taken from the river and carried through a discharge line to small reservoirs. These reservoirs would consist of either a steel tank or an excavated concrete-lined structure. Capacities of each reservoir would range from 200,000 gallons (about 0.6 acre-foot) to 2 million gallons (about 6.1 acre-feet) depending upon the need for irrigation. The water would be distributed from these reservoir structures through buried pipelines for sprinkler irrigation. The Howard Flat and Moses Coulee units would have the second method of operation. In the Howard Flat unit there would be a section of open concrete-lined canals about 3,200 feet in length. Other than this, all water would be conveyed by low-pressure buried concrete pipe. Water would be delivered to farm tracts at a minimum pressure suitable for rill-type irrigation. 8. No drainage works are planned for the irrigation units, except at Moses Coulee. The lands are located on river and glacial-Gutwash terraces. Soils are relatively shallow and range in depth from 1.5 feet to 15 feet. They are of medium to coarse texture and readily absorb water. The soil mantle is underlain by open, coarse, sandy, gravelly, or cobble material which is permeable. On the Moses Coulee unit, two small seasonal drains are proposed. These 2 drains would be approximate y 5,400 feet long and 8 feet deep. 9. Although this report does not evaluate Chief Joseph Reservoir or the effects of the dam on the river below, the following summary of engineering features from our 1947 report to the corps is included to give an overall picture of this project, since power generated at this dam will be used to pump irrigation water to the various units: The dam will be a straight, concrete, gravity overflow type, with a net opening of 1,000 feet. Twenty-five tainter gates, each 40 feet wide, would control the discharge. The crest elevation would be 908 feet mean sea level. The normal pool elevation would be 937.5 feet mean sea level. The spillway design flood of 1,250,000 second-feet is much greater than the largest recorded food of 725,000 second-feet in 1894 (USGS estimate). The powerhouse would be located on south bank and would receive water through a canal 2,000 feet long. The powerplant would have a total capacity of approximately 960,000 kilowatts. The reservoir would contain 480,000 acre-feet at normal pool level. The average width of the reservoir would be 1,200 feet, and the maximum width about 3,000 feet. The normal difference between forebay and tailwater at dam site would be 172 feet. FISHERIES 10. The seven units of the project would be located on benchlands above the river. Except for the Antoine Creek and Moses Coulee units, none of them is traversed by a stream. They have no fishery values now and would have none when irrigated. Antoine Creek has only a nominal fishery that would be affected but little by return flows from the irrigation unit. 11. The seven pumping plants for the irrigation units would draw water from the main Columbia River. Salmon, trout, and other game fishes are present in the river, therefore it would be necessary to screen the pump intakes to prevent the loss of fish into the irrigation systems. The screens should be designed to exclude fry stages of fish as well as larger sizes. The costs of installation and operation of the screens should be part of the project costs. WILDLIFE Introduction 12. The wildlife evaluation consists of an appraisal of the project as a whole, but with separate monetary values for each of the seven irrigation units. 13. Without the project the 7 irrigation units include 1,495 irrigable acres of presently irrigated and 9,357 irrigable acres of nonirrigated lands. Approximately 81 percent of the irrigated lands are now in orchards. The irrigable but presently nonirrigated lands include 5,618 acres of dry-farmed grainlands and 3,439 acres of rangelands that are largely covered with sagebrush, rabbitbrush, needlegrass, downy chess, and miscellaneous annual grasses and weeds. An additional 12,655 acres of sagebrush rangelands in the immediate vicinity of the irrigable acreage, but classified as nonirrigable, are included in the wildlife analysis since their wildlife value would be affected by project development. Big game is the chief wildlife resource for all units except the East unit. For the East unit, upland game is the principal wildlife resource. 14. With the project the wildlife resources are evaluated on the 7 irrigation units comprising 10,852 irrigable acres and 12,655 acres classified as nonirrigable. Approximately 75 percent of the irrigated |