Forrest Ranch Acquisition, Annual Report 2001-2002.

Abstract

Through their John Day Basin Office, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (Tribes) acquired the Forrest Ranch during July of 2002. The property consists of two parcels located in the John Day subbasin within the Columbia basin. The mainstem parcel consists of 3,503 acres and is located 1/2 mile to the east of Prairie City, Oregon on the mainstem of the John Day River. The middle fork parcel consists of 820 acres and is located one mile to the west of the town of Austin, OR on the middle fork John Day River. The Forrest Ranch Project is under a memorandum of agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to provide an annual written report generally describing the real property interests of the project and management activities undertaken or in progress. The Forrest Ranch acquisition was funded by BPA as part of their program to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat affected by the operation of their hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River and its tributaries. Following lengthy negotiations with the BPA and property owner, the Tribes were able to conclude the acquisition of the Forrest Ranch in July of 2002. The intent of the acquisition project was to partially mitigate fish and wildlife impacts for the John Day Dam on the Columbia River as outlined in the Northwest Power Planning Council's Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994, section 11.1, section 7.6). While the Tribes hold fee-title to the property, the BPA has assured a level of program funding through a memorandum of agreement and annual statement of work. As early as 1997, the Tribes identified this property as a priority for restoration in the John Day basin. In 2000, the Tribes arranged an agreement with the landowner to seek funds for the acquisition of both the Middle Fork and upper Mainstem John Day River holdings of Mr. John Forrest. This property had been a priority of not only the Tribes, but of many other basin natural resource agencies. The contract period was the first year of the program with December 2001 through July 2nd 2002 being previous to acquisition of the property. The majority of the activities conducted under the contract period were spent on O&M and pre acquisition activities.