Funding and Budget
| 2007 Trinity River Restoration Program Budget [PDF - 35kb] |
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| 2006 Trinity River Restoration Program Budget [PDF - 350kb] |
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| 2005 Trinity River Restoration Program Budget [PDF - 35kb] |
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The Trinity River Restoration Program budget is divided into three main areas: Program Administration, Rehabilitation Implementation, and Technical Modeling and Analysis. Program Administration includes staffing and support costs of the Program's field office and program participation and technical involvement by member agencies/tribes of the Trinity Management Council and the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (federal advisory committee). Rehabilitation Implementation primarily involves on-the-ground activities such as floodplain structure acquisition/modification needed to implement the higher peak flows prescribed in the December 2000 Record of Decision (ROD), channel restoration site construction and gravel introductions for salmon habitat creation and enhancement, and fine sediment control from tributary watersheds. The Technical Modeling and Analysis component includes an extensive set of long-term monitoring tasks that include both physical (water quantity/temperature and sediment) and biological (juvenile and adult salmonids) resources. The adaptive environmental assessment and management program requires data collection, predictive modeling, hypothesis testing, and modification of management actions as needed.
These activities are designed to achieve the Program's primary goal, which is restoration of naturally-spawning salmon and steelhead populations in the Trinity River to pre-dam levels. In fiscal years (FY) 2006 and 2007 this required completing actions on structures at risk of inundation from the higher peak flows including modification, relocation, and/or purchase. By FY2007, Lewiston Dam releases of up to 11,000 cubic feet per second were possible. Restoration site construction is scheduled in the budget at an average of 4-6 sites/year (out of 47 total over the 40 mile project area), with the first set of 24 sites to be completed by 2008. Gravel introductions are planned at variable quantities by water year type, potentially reaching 70,000 cubic yards in extremely wet years.
Implementation of the preferred alternative identified in the ROD will require a total of $12 to $15 million annually (from Reclamation and other sources) over the next 7 years, depending upon the rate of construction activities. Restoration activities to date have included: replacement of four bridges (completed), mainstem channel rehabilitation program (first project just completed with eight more scheduled for 2006/2007), sediment management and gravel augmentation (ongoing), watershed restoration, and ongoing adaptive management. Costs of floodplain structure modifications and channel restoration site construction have been re-evaluated and adjusted to reflect the increased number and complexity of associated realty actions.
In recent years the Program has received $1 to 2 million annually from the CVP Restoration Fund in addition to the $7 million of Reclamation's Water and Related funds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contributed approximately $2 million annually in fiscal years 2003-2006. Similar amounts may be available in the future. The California Department of Fish and Game's Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Grant Program contributed a total of $2.2 million toward bridge construction (allowing for increased peak flows), and further grant proposals have recently been approved in excess of $500,000 to assist with rehabilitation site construction. The Restoration Program continues to work with other participating Federal, state and local agencies to identify financial responsibilities and funding opportunities in implementing the program.