Colville Confederated Tribes
Owhi Lake -
Restoring a Resident Fishery
The Owhi Lake watershed is a 25,000-acre watershed located in Okanogan and
Ferry Counties of Washington state, near the center of the Colville
Confederated Tribal Lands. The lake, which encompasses 500 acres, is 10 miles
northeast of Nespelem, near tribal headquarters. The project area is within the
Little Nespelem watershed. The Little Nespelem River originates at Owhi
Lake.
The Owhi watershed is roughly one-third rangeland (8,790 acres) and
two-thirds forest land (16,210 acres). The rangeland occurs at lower elevations
in the southwest corner of the watershed and extends north to Owhi Lake and
east to the Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forests. Owhi Lake is
nutrient-enriched; its problems have multiple sources, but livestock's
unrestricted, all-seasons use of the Owhi creek and lakeshore coupled with a
historic pattern of road construction for timber harvesting intensify the
impacts from all sources.
Limiting livestock access
The tribes' Owhi Lake section 319 project is part of an integrated management
plan that includes forests, rangelands, recreation, and traditional land uses.
Its goal is to improve water quality through best management practices (BMPs).
Tribal activities have focused on limiting livestock access to Owhi Creek
and Lake. Using section 319 funding, tribal, and other money, the tribes fenced
Owhi Lake and created livestock enclosures to restrict the use of pastures
along the creek. The primary and ultimate objective of these and other project
activities is to flush the lake and reduce the inflow of phosphorus. However,
the tribes also plan to improve riparian habitat and encourage more beaver
activity along the creek.
The fencing portion of the project was completed about 18 months ago. School
children worked with tribal technicians; they planted riparian vegetation and
helped put medium organic debris in the creek, using only local materials. Owhi
Lake also has the most important resident fishery within the reservation.
Indeed, the lake provides an excellent subsistence fishery for the Colville
Tribes and is the sole source of brook trout broodstock for the entire
reservation. The Tribal Fish and Game Division collects between 700 and 800
thousand brook trout eggs annually to restock the fishery. Current fish
stocking efforts provide subsistence and recreational opportunities for tribal
members and other lake users.
CONTACT: Gary Passmore
Environmental Trust Department Colville Confederated Tribes
(509) 634-8844 |
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