The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Crossing Condition Surveys project is an assessment of aquatic organism passage (AOP) and condition of road-stream crossings on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests (NPCNF). Surveys targeting roads with upcoming timber harvest or water quality concerns will help the NPCNF identify candidates for replacement or AOP installation as funding becomes available. DEQ has active TMDL projects within the Forest boundary that cite sediment contributions from roads, and undersized culverts with potential for mass failure, as a source of sediment in those watersheds but there is not a comprehensive catalog of culvert crossings or conditions. This project would start to catalog those crossings and culvert conditions and help inform road management practices in sediment impaired watersheds. Assessment of AOP and crossing condition would be done using the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Southeast Aquatic Resource Partnership (SARP) survey protocol. SARP is an inventory and prioritization tool designed to help managers and partners identify high priority AOP barrier removal projects. The surveys feed into the National Aquatic Barrier Inventory, a nationwide tool utilized by the Forest to store, share and explore collected data. SARP field forms are available for download using the Survey123 application, and detailed maps using the FieldMaps application can be created to aid in survey collection and planning. The contractor will work with the Forest hydrologist or other NPCNF aquatics staff to set up maps and survey forms on field collection devices. At least 2 days of training is required to learn how to conduct the survey, and NPCNF aquatics staff are available to do this. The survey would be conducted on all mapped stream crossings on specified roads and road segments. Desired outcomes are 40-50 crossings inventoried per two-person crew per week, for a total of 280 crossings annually. If two crews are working simultaneously, the desired outcome is 560 crossings annually.
