The YTAHP RC&D committee is dedicated to a future Yakima Basin with healthy salmon, healthy streams, and healthy communities.

The Yakima Tributary Access & Habitat Program (YTAHP, “Y-Tap”) was developed in 2001 to provide assistance to landowners in restoring critical salmon habitat by implementing projects that protect, restore, and enhance riparian and floodplain habitat currently or historically used by salmon.  Program objectives are to screen irrigation diversions, remove manmade barriers (dams, culverts, etc), restore fish passage, and enhance stream habitat.  The YTAHP program is made possible through a collaborative effort between the SCW RC&D Council, local conservation districts, and many other local, state, and federal entities.  Projects are voluntary and are designed to serve the best interest of the landowner, salmon, and the community.

2010 YTAHP Meeting Schedule

Following is a list of estimated YTAHP meeting dates and locations:

*Locations: Ellensburg - Kittitas County Fire Department, 102 N. Pearl St.
                  Yakima - USDA Service Center, 1606 Perry St.

YTAHP Accomplishments

Since 2001, YTAHP has worked to develop, design, permit, and construct more than 50 projects.  Our accomplishments, as of 2008, have been:

• 75 total cubic feet per second (cfs) screened
• 24,000 acre feet (AF) screened
• 4.5 cubic feet per second (cfs) trusted to instream use
• 1,299 acre feet (AF) trusted
• 30 acres of riparian habitat revegetated
• 4 miles of habitat enhanced
• 20 miles of stream opened by barrier removal

YTAHP Partners (CORE TEAM)

Our partners are the key to our success!  Through the YTAHP partnership, key agencies and staff are involved throughout every step of each project.  These partners include:

• South Central Washington Resource Conservation & Development Council
• Kittitas County Conservation District
• North Yakima Conservation District
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Yakama Nation
• Kittitas Conservation Trust
• Mid-Columbia Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group
• Benton Conservation District
• Washington Department of Ecology
• Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board

YTAHP Funding

Primary funding for the Program is from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) with additional project funding from the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Washington Department of Ecology Water Quality Program, Community Salmon Funds, and other local, state and federal programs.

YTAHP Staff

Dave Myra
YTAHP program manager
(509) 454-5743, x128


Carol Ready
YTAHP program staff
(509) 929-7323

Feature Story

Returning Salmon to Upper Currier Creek – Ellensburg, Washington

Water rights vs. salmon recovery? Is it possible to reconcile the needs of landowners with the needs of salmon? One project has shown that it is. Currier Creek in the Kittitas Valley is one of several creeks intersected by an irrigation ditch created by the Ellensburg Water Company in the 1860s. Built to deliver vital water to landowners, this ditch intersected Currier Creek, redirecting stream water into the ditch with the use of boards (figure 1). These boards blocked any salmon from migrating further upstream. The water that spilled over these boards was contaminated by the intermingling of creek and ditch water, which resulted in the release of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals downstream.
To address this problem, and many others like it in the Yakima Basin, the Kittitas County Conservation District formed a partnership with the South Central Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D) through the Yakima Tributaries, Access and Habitat Program (YTAHP). YTAHP was designed to provide assistance to landowners in complying with salmon recovery while maintaining their water rights and land use.

Through the RC&D council and the YTAHP program, funding was obtained (total cost = $653,000: DOE’s Water Infrastructure Program, Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Ellensburg Water Company, and RC&D). This funding allowed the intersection to be completely reconstructed by piping ditch water underneath the stream channel (figure 2). To maintain water rights within the ditch, a fish screen and water meter for 15 cfs gravity diversion was built. A fish ladder was also constructed to allow fish passage during low flows (figure 3). In addition, riparian vegetation was planted to provide additional shade and habitat.  The construction has been completed and now monitoring has begun to make sure the siphon is working correctly.

click on the image for a larger image

Previous YTAHP Meeting Minutes

Annual Report

Download the 2007 Annual YTAHP Report [pdf 854KB]

Natural resources now and for the future!