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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: March 13, 2023 <br />TOPIC: Mid -Columbia Fisheries Memorandum of <br />Agreement <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direction to Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Arden Thomas <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct Staff to Prepare Enabling Documentation <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Kittitas County and Mid -Columbia Fisheries have each obtained grant funding to <br />implement the Yakima River Corridor Plan. <br />• Projects implemented by Kittitas County and Mid -Columbia Fisheries are highly <br />interrelated. <br />• Given the extensive work by Mid -Columbia Fisheries within this focal restoration <br />area and resources this organization has secured, this non-profit organization is <br />uniquely qualified to implement certain restoration actions on behalf of Kittitas <br />County. <br />o Public Works wishes to formalize our relationship with Mid -Columbia Fisheries <br />to document our respective roles, project contributions, and specify funding for <br />cooperative implementation actions for the Yakima River Corridor Plan. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />In 2015 Kittitas County adopted the Yakima River Corridor Plan for habitat enhancement <br />and flood risk management of the Yakima River, from the Jeffries Levee to the Yakima <br />River Canyon. To implement this plan, Kittitas County has purchased floodplain <br />properties to advance integrated floodplain management. Mid -Columbia Fisheries has <br />been working with the Bureau of Land Management and Kittitas County on restoration <br />implementation and site stewardship within this reach. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Given the extensive work by Mid -Columbia Fisheries within this focal restoration area <br />and resources this organization has secured, this non-profit organization is uniquely <br />qualified to implement certain restoration actions. To date we have been working <br />informally for mutual benefit. We wish to formalize this relationship and fund a portion <br />of Mid -Columbia Fisheries restoration work. <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />PUBLIC WORKS BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />