532 



to coordinate and facilitate development of a Model Watershed Plan, and Ralph 

 Swift of the Soil Conservation Service has been appointed as project 

 coordinator. Reclamation's Lemhi River Water Conservation Demonstration 

 Project will be included as an element in the overall watershed plan. Also, 

 Reclamation has agreed to conduct engineering feasibility studies of 

 consolidating some diversions on the Lemhi River. 



Recent Activity: The Lemhi-Pahsimeroi-East Fork Model Watershed/Idaho Screen 

 Technical Work Group (TWG) met in Salmon on August 19. The group received 

 updates on the various programs underway under the umbrella of the Model 

 Watershed program including the Lemhi River Water Conservation Demonstration 

 Project, fish screening program, diversion consolidation program, and various 

 agency programs. An opportunity recently identified was to construct 3 pump 

 diversions to replace 4 gravity diversions. This would reduce screening costs 

 and eliminate the need for diversion berms in the affected itreams. The group 

 concluded that more discussion needs to occur on funding and cost-sharing 

 issues associated with the various programs. 



Oregon 



Background: The Grande Ronde basin has been selected as Oregon's watershed 

 project. Reclamation's ongoing water optimization study and water 

 conservation demonstration project will likely be included as elements in the 

 overall watershed project. The Union and Wallowa County Commissions have 

 formally appointed a Board of Directors for the Grande Ronde Basin Model 

 Watershed Program (GRMWP). The board has developed an organizational 

 structure and selected an executive director. A group has been formed in 

 Wallowa County to develop a salmon recovery strategy for the Wallowa and 

 Imnaha basins. 



Recent Activity: The Board of directors met in Elgin on July 14 and in 

 Enterprise on August 23. The GRWMP Board is in the process of developing 

 MOD'S with natural resource agencies and organizations in the basin and is 

 selecting a technical committee to review project proposals and make 

 recommendations to the Board for implementation. The GRMWP is also conducting 

 a basin-wide habitat assessment with funding from BPA and Reclamation to 

 identify critical salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing areas for 

 restoration activities. Work has started on the development of a "priority 

 list" of near-term actions that could be taken to begin the restoration 

 effort. 



Contacts: Dave Duncan (OR), Ron Golus (ID) 



6.6.B.2 Improve enforcement of existing water rights and 

 (page 74) duties for water diversions; ensure that existing and 

 new diversions are equipped with devices to measure 

 instantaneous and seasonal flows (Reclamation co- 

 lead). 



Background: Reclamation and OWRD have worked with irrigation districts in the 

 Umatilla River basin to institute water rights and diversion monitoring and 

 enforcement improvements. Also, Reclamation, IDWR, and local water users 

 have established a water district and a water use accounting system for the 

 Payette River basin. Reclamation is working with the Frenchtown Irrigation 

 District in western Montana and the Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company in 



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