| Oregon Plan Stories |
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| Willamette Basin |
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Kelley Creek Confluence Restoration
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Photos of the Kelley Creek Confluence Project in October of 2004 (Photos by Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board) |
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The Alsop-Brownwood area encompasses approximately 57 acres of open space land at the confluence of Johnson and Kelley creeks. Numerous residential properties were purchased in this area through the Portland Bureau of Environmental Service’s Willing Seller Land Acquisition Program. Once properties were acquired, the existing structures were removed and the sites were banked for future restoration. The Johnson Creek Restoration Plan identified the Alsop-Brownwood Site as one of the highest priorities for implementation.
The Kelley Creek Confluence Restoration Project is the first phase of restoration within the larger Alsop-Brownwood Site, and is the first project from the Johnson Creek Restoration Plan to be funded. The reach of Kelley Creek immediately upstream of the confluence, and below the SE 159th Ave Bridge, is the main focus of the project; it was armored with stone walls constructed by the Works Progress Administration during the 1920s and 1930s. Instream conditions in this reach included a lack of large woody debris and channel complexity, channel incision, and a substrate with a fairly even distribution of particle sizes. Upstream of the restoration area the channel is naturally constrained by alternating terraces and hill slopes with a more intact riparian zone. This section of the creek has more channel complexity, and species such as steelhead, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and lamprey have been found here. The primary goal of the project is to provide habitat for salmonid recovery consistent with the City of Portland’s ESA strategy. Other goals include the provision of flood storage and improvement in water quality.
This project relocated lower Kelley Creek into a new meandering channel with pool and riffle habitat. Approximately 24,000 cubic yards of soil were excavated from the floodplains of Kelley and Johnson creeks to construct two backwater channels and the new meandering channel for Kelley Creek. A total of 13.6 acre-feet of additional floodwater storage was created. Partners included the City, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The creation of the two backwater channels along Johnson Creek provided immediate beneficial wetland habitat, floodwater storage, and high-flow refuge for fish. In addition, riparian and upland vegetation planted in the backwater areas, new channel, and floodplain provided habitat for wildlife. Re-meandering of Kelley Creek has provided immediate beneficial cold water spawning and rearing habitat for fish as well as capacity for flood storage. The former channel of Kelley Creek was 368 feet long, now it is 573 feet long. The project created an additional 205 feet of cold water spawning and rearing habitat and reduced the slope of the creek from about 1.5 percent to less than one percent to provide ideal spawning habitat.
Luckiamute Helicopter Wood Placement
The Luckiamute River is a tributary of the Willamette River and supports federally-listed winter steelhead and spring Chinook salmon. In 2004, the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC) contacted Boise Cascade and obtained permission to pursue a stream restoration project on property that Boise Cascade then owned that contained the headwaters of the river. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had identified this reach of the river as critical habitat for upper Willamette winter steelhead.
Along the 2.6-mile project reach, riparian vegetation was 99 percent deciduous. Channel complexity was low due to insufficient levels of large wood. Since deciduous large wood decomposes more quickly than coniferous large wood, placing coniferous large wood into the project reach would enhance long-term channel complexity, creating high-quality habitat.
In late September of 2004, helicopters positioned 171 logs, obtained from nearby Bureau of Land Management property, at 42 sites to enhance channel complexity. Monitoring in the summer of 2006 has documented the effectiveness of the project. The logs largely remain in position and have captured woody material from the riparian canopy. Channel function has been restored quite rapidly, including gravel retention, increase in sinuosity, increase in natural wood recruitment, and an apparent recovery of interaction with the floodplain. Increased spawning gravel, low velocity off-channel backwater habitat, and an increase in pool complexity can be found today.
This clear and positive habitat response is marked by juvenile steelhead that the LWC field crew observed in June of 2006, and by spawning redds that an ODFW District fish biologist discovered in spring of 2006. Even amphibians have benefited—red-legged frogs and Pacific giant salamanders were observed during the 2006 field visit. The log placement project, funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board through the local watershed council, is a good example of the enhancement of habitat for threatened and endangered species through cooperative partnerships among public and private organizations.
Russell Creek Fish Passage Barrier Removal
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| Ten foot drop from culvert before the project. |
New bridge on Russell Creek. |
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Photos by Molalla RiverWatch
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| Wood stave culvert. |
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Russell Creek is a tributary of the Molalla River. The Molalla Forest Road, which crosses over the creek, contained a wood stave culvert installed in the late 1930s or early 1940s. The culvert created a complete fish passage barrier due to a ten-foot drop from the culvert’s outlet. As a result, this barrier isolated upstream high-quality anadromous fish habitat, including an 8-acre wetland with the capacity to provide valuable rearing habitat for juvenile fish. Species that could use this habitat include Coho salmon and cutthroat trout as well as steelhead and Chinook salmon, both of which are federally listed as threatened.
The project’s goal was to remove the culvert and replace it with a full-spanning bridge, thereby opening up about 2.5 miles of high-quality anadromous fish habitat including the wetland. Furthermore, the project aimed to return the stream channel to a natural profile, reduce erosion and scour, and improve the riparian buffer in the area. The project was completed successfully in 2005. In September and October of 2005, as part of the project, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists salvaged over 1,000 fish—including about 336 Coho—by physically removing them from below the culvert.
Extensive partnerships made this endeavor possible. Molalla RiverWatch, Weyerhaeuser, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) worked together to complete the project. Molalla RiverWatch and Weyerhaeuser joined the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board in providing funding, while ODFW and Clackamas County SWCD provided in-kind technical support. Partnerships continue to enable the maintenance and monitoring of the area. ODFW will complete fish presence surveys in the stream and wetland; ODFW Aquatic Inventory Survey crews will conduct habitat surveys; Molalla RiverWatch will monitor the riparian vegetation; and Weyerhaeuser will maintain the new bridge structure. This project is typical of the efforts necessary to address legacy conditions in Oregon’s watersheds.
Cardwell Hills Community Restoration: Assessment Phase
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| Riparian and oak woodland in the Marys River Watershed (Photos by Marys River Watershed Council) |
The Cardwell Hills Complex in the Marys River Watershed is an important upland and riparian corridor connecting the Willamette Valley to the foothills of the Coast Range. Unusual terrestrial and aquatic communities converge at the project location. The Marys River Watershed Council (MRWC) identified the area as a high-priority sub-basin in the watershed for restoration of cutthroat trout. It is also high priority for conservation and restoration of habitat for western pond turtles; sharptail snakes; Fender’s blue butterflies and their host plant, Kinkaid’s lupine; upland meadows; and oak woodlands and oak savannah.
Much of this area was recently identified by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as critical habitat for seven federally-listed species of flora and fauna including Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, a species thought to be extinct in this region but newly rediscovered. Benton County highly values the area because of two important parks nearby, and it is considered high priority under the county’s proposed Habitat Conservation Plan.
Typically, conservation implies setting aside and staying away from an area to protect wildlife. This project’s overall goal is to integrate human activities into the healthy watershed equation, merging biological conservation into land use practice at the private property level. Over 30 landowners are joining forces to create land-use practices that work for all species. Ultimately, partnerships make this project viable. Partners include the landowners, MRWC, Benton County Natural Areas and Parks Development, David Evans & Associates, USFWS, Benton Soil & Water Conservation District, Greenbelt Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Forestry, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Defenders of Wildlife, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service, Oregon State University, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.
In 2005, several initial meetings were held at the local community hall to talk about the ecological context of the area and discuss group and individual approaches to restoration. In April, the governor designated the venture as an Oregon Solutions project, which attracts additional resources as well as broader community outreach and support. Accomplishments during 2005 include landowner agreements, a collaborative vision plan, inventory and analysis reports, a master plan and illustrations of the site, a funding strategy and budget, and a project action plan. Currently, the group is designing restoration projects for implementation; soon they will be ready to put them into action for the benefit of animals, plants, and humans.
The 2005-2007 Biennial Report provides more information about accomplishments in each watershed basin.
Return to watershed basin map
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