b. Mitigation Proposals. From the loss statements, the Idaho Department of Fish and 

 Game and the interagency work team agreed that a reasonable goal would be to protect and/or 

 enhance the same number of target species' habitat units that were lost as a result ot inundation of 

 the reservoirs. The mitigation proposals used the estimated habitat lost (approximately 9,619 

 habitat units for selected target species at Anderson Ranch Dam and 2,238 habitat units for 

 selected target species at Black Canyon Dam) as guidelines for addressing objectives, while also 

 considering the needs of wildlife in the area. Because large multispecies mitigation projects are 

 proposed, some target species will gain more habitat units than were originally lost, and some will 

 gain fewer. To address the needs for wildlife in the area, the proposal suggests that some trade- 

 offs between extra benefits to some target species would have to occur. To achieve the goals for 

 both projects, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the interagency team suggest the 

 . following proposals: 



Anderson Ranch 



• Riparian and upland species: Protect through easement or acquisition, enhance and 

 maintain 6,100 acres of wetlands and uplands in the Camas Creek area; 960 acres of 

 Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse habitat associated with the Nelsofi Ranch (a Nature 

 Conservancy Project); and 200 acres of forested wetlands on the Boise River. 



• Mule deer: Enhance 15,500 acres of mule deer winter range on BLM lands in the 

 Bennett Hills area. 



• Peregrine Falcon: Establish and maintain one reintroduction site for at least 10 years. 



• Anderson Ranch Borrow Site: Rehabilitate and enhance the site that provided fill for 

 the dam. 



Black Canyon 



• Riparian and upland species: Protect by easement or acquisition, enhance and 

 maintain 800 acres of wetlands and uplands in the Bruneau River Valley. 



• Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse: Protect by easement or acquisition, enhance and 

 maintain 600 acres of habitat associated with the Nelson Ranch. 



• Mule Deer: Protect by easement or acquisition, enhance and maintain 500 acres of 

 winter range adjacent to the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. 



PROGRAM ISSUES 



Over the past six years, the Columbia Basin agencies and tribes have developed wildlife 

 protection, mitigation and enhancement proposals for the federal hydroelectric projects in the 

 basin. Throughout this period, the agencies and tribes have followed the planning guidelines set 

 forth in the Council's fish and wildlife program. While all parties have not always agreed with the 

 planning process used to develop these proposals, participation by affected entities was 

 encouraged by the agencies and tribes (using mailings, meetings, etc.) and participant 

 recommendations were taken into account. 



-14- 



