Completed Projects > 2011 Projects
-
West Fork Smith River Map
No other coastal basin seems as wild and as untouched as the Smith River, a tributary to the Umpqua Estuary, but forest fires, logging, road building, stream cleaning, and riparian tree harvest have affected the complex hydrologic connection between the forest and the stream. West Fork Smith River (WFSR) is a sixth-field watershed in lower Smith River and is the poster child of past forest practices that have since been banned, such as splash damming and stream clean-out using heavy equipment. The Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers (PUR) has formed a unique collaboration with Coos Bay BLM, Roseburg Resources Company, ODFW, and USFS. These partners have decided to address the limiting factors for fish production in the basin: summer holding pools and winter high water refuge. Ten years of ODFW habitat monitoring data will act as a baseline to quantify the effects of habitat restoration throughout 24.5 miles of stream. Work began in September 2010 and resulted in the placement of 482 logs and 40 whole trees in 3.5 miles of Beaver Creek, Moore Creek, and the Mainstem. The next stage of this project will include the placement of 977 logs, 159 trees and 2,380 boulders in 21 stream miles of the WFSR basin.
-
-
-
-
Upper Smith River Map
The Upper Smith River is located in Douglas County, approximately 30 miles northeast of Reedsport and 26 miles southwest of Eugene. Historically this river system had abundant anadromous fish runs but currently a lack of large woody debris (LWD) and boulders are limiting salmonid populations. In addition, natural recovery to proper functioning condition is not likely to occur in the foreseeable future because of the road network, loss of floodplain connectivity, lack of instream structure, and significantly reduced sources of large wood recruitment potential.
The objective is to complete eight miles of instream log and boulder placement across private and federally-managed property. The primary watershed functions being addressed are based on site-specific limiting factors. In bedrock-dominated reaches, an abundance of stable instream structures is needed to store and stabilize stream substrate that otherwise is being flushed from the system. In the smaller tributaries that do contain gravel substrate, structure placements are needed to maintain stable spawning riffles, scour pools, reduce stream velocities, and provide cover habitat for juvenile salmonids. Other benefits include: raising the water table which reduces stream temperature, retention of suitable substrate, and narrowing/deepening of stream channels. These stream enhancements will not only benefit the targeted salmonid species but will also provide excellent habitat for a variety of amphibians, insects, small mammals and birds.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rock Creek Side Channel Map
The project involves placing 66 logs and 15 rootwads from the road into side channels off mainstem Rock Creek with an excavator. It also involves knocking or pulling 32 trees (18-24” diameter) over with an excavator and moving them into the stream channel. The trees may be up to 150’ away from the nearest excavator access and may need to be dragged with a cable to get them to the excavator and stream channel. Six existing logs in the stream will also need to be moved within the channel. The project also involves excavating out the mouth of up to four side channels. The access for some of the sites is complicated and involves moving the logs up to 2000’ from the road to the site with multiple stream crossings including mainstem Rock Creek.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Thompson & Muns Creek Map
Instream restoration across two miles of Thompson Creek and one mile of Muns Creek in the Olalla-Lookingglasswatershed is historic because of the heavy resistance to restoration that once existed in this area. With the successof several OWEB and RAC funded fish passage projects, including two small BLM-funded log placement projects,interest began to grow to extend this work across the watershed. PUR, ODFW and BLM biologists have surveyedthese streams and come to several conclusions as to why juvenile fish have poor survival there. Munns Creek hassuitable gravel for spawning but lacks summer rearing and overwintering habitat for juvenile coho salmon andsteelhead trout. Thompson Creek has been eroded to bedrock and lacks gravel for spawning habitat as well asrearing habitat for salmonids. Fish survival will be increased by adding logs and boulders to the stream to diversifythe habitat. Instream restoration will increase the summer pool habitat for rearing juvenile fish and will increase thearea for fish to find refuge from high winter flows and predation. Photo point monitoring will be established totrack changes in the stream bed and structures over time. OWEB funds will be used for project management, travel,contracted services, materials, and fiscal administration.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-