Projects and Grants
Request for bids on projects
PDF of summer 2009 projects slideshow
Slide Show of 2007-2008 projects
Pixieland Estuary Restoration
Salmon River Culvert Survey
Bear Creek and Upper Salmon River Limiting Factors Analysis
Tamara Quays Restoration Site
Replacement of the Green Acres Push-up Dam
Schooner Creek Fish Ladder and planting
Student Natural Resources Crew
Crowley Creek Planting
"Fisher Crew" Restoration Team
Removal of the Rock Creek Dam
Capacity Building
Water Quality Monitoring Program
Pixieland Estuary Restoration Project
(Summer 2010-)This summer, Phase I of major ecological restoration work will begin at the former site of Pixieland, an amusement park that existed on the Salmon River estuary near Otis in the 1970's. The work will include dike removal, regrading of filled areas to natural elevations, removal of remaining infrastructure, and planting of native vegetation. Salmon Drift Creek Watershed Council (SDCWC) and the US Forest Service (USFS) are managing this project, which is funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, OR Department of State Lands, the USFS, and other partners. Click here for more information and updates.
Salmon River Culvert Survey
(Summer 2009)Some road-stream crossings create barriers to fish and other organism passage. Such barriers eliminate access to large areas of habitat and can have a major detrimental effect on aquatic organism populations, especially salmonids. These barriers can be classified as complete barriers that do not pass fish through in all conditions or incomplete barriers that only block passage under some conditions such as heavy rainfall. A common example of a fish passage barrier is an undersized culvert. This can cause higher velocity than fish can pass through and erosion at the downstream end of the culvert and a drop to the stream or plunge pool surface that fish might not be able to jump through. Undersized culverts can also create blockages of debris that turn road beds into weak dams, resulting in a blowout of the roadbed and severe habitat damage downstream. Other barriers include non-functional tidegates, dams, and damaged or poorly designed culverts. The Salmon River basin currently does not have a comprehensive list of barriers, but OWEB has awarded SDCWC a grant to conduct a survey and prioritization of culverts.
This project will produce a prioritized list of fish passage barriers to guide future restoration in the Salmon River watershed. Components are:
- Gather culvert assessments from existing reports and incorporate them into a single GIS project and database. Additional gradient criteria will be added to our GIS model of road-stream crossings to identify sites for on-the-ground assessments.
- Four fishers will conduct these surveys using enhanced ODFW culvert survey forms and enter data electronically. This will be incorporated to the GIS project and database. ODFW and USFS will help with crew training and quality control.
- Fish passage barriers will then be prioritized for remediation using the BLM juvenile fish passage criteria as recommended by the Nestucca/Neskowin Watershed Council's extensive review of methods. The SDCWC tech team will help finalize recommendations.
- A detailed report will be made available in DVD, electronic, and hard-copy. This will be used to guide future projects.
Limiting Factors Analysis
(Fall 2008-2009)Final Report (pdf)
Bear Creek and the Upper Salmon River are undergoing a Coho Salmon Limiting Factors Analysis. The recently completed multi-stakeholder action planning process for the Salmon River watershed identified the need for more up-to-date and site-specific information regarding some of the sub-basins in order to design the most critical and effective restoration projects. This technical assistance proposal seeks funding for analysis of two sub-basins to identify factors limiting salmon productivity and recommend restoration projects to address these limiting factors. We will undertake extensive outreach to landowners in the affected basins and are hopeful that this outreach will expand on partnerships initiated through the action planning process and result in on-the-ground projects. OWEB funds will be used to contract for the field surveys, data analysis, and restoration project recommendations and to fund staff to conduct landowner outreach.
Tamara Quays and Rowdy Creek Restoration
(Summer 2008-2009)Final Report
Tamara Quays is the site of a former trailer park located in the Salmon River estuary near the intersection of highway 101 and highway 18. Siuslaw National Forest (SNF) now owns the site and is working with the SDCWC to restore Tamara Quays to its natural state. The first step to restoration was to remove the pavement and trailer pads from most of the site. Rowdy Creek was split between an artificial pond, "Kingfisher Lake," and a ditch designed to carry flood waters on the other side of a long dike surrounding the pond. Two undersized culverts split the creek under Fraser Road. In the summer of 2008, SDCWC and SNF contracted the replacement of these culverts with one large box culvert which will allow free flow of Rowdy Creek into its old streambed. Remnant infrastructure such as cables and pipes were also removed. Removal of the dikes to restore salt water and estuarine influence is planned for the summer of 2009. Large wood will be placed where a former meander was cut off to form Kingfisher Lake, helping Rowdy Creek to return to its natural sinuous state as it transitions to the estuary. Work at the Tamara Quays site has been funded by many partners, including OWEB, USFS, the National Forest Foundation (NFF), USFW coastal program, Department of State Lands, and Oregon Dept of Transportation.
Green Acres push-up dam
(2007)In the summer of 2007, a small push-up dam was replaced with an off-channel watering system on a private ranch on the Rock Creek system.
Schooner Creek Fish Ladder and Planting
(Fall 2007)Aug 24 ODFW repairs fish ladders on Schooner Creek to benefit trout and salmon (Newport News Times)
Two deteriorating fish ladders on Schooner Creek's North Fork and South Fork tributaries were replaced with more durable materials. The project was funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Many volunteers from SDCWC, Northwest Steelheaders, and Longview Fishing Club planted trees over disturbed ground and labored to replace the baffles on the South Fork ladder.
Student Natural Resources Crew
(Summers, ongoing)Starting in 2005, summer highschool natural resources crews have worked in the lower Salmon River area helping SDCWC and its partners with restoration work. These crews have consisted of Career Tech Charter High School students and have been led by Career Tech teachers and a crew leader (Katie Brehm or Corrina Chase, the current coordinator of SDCWC.) Funding for the crews has come from the USFWS Coastal Program, Americorps, the Community Services Consortium, OWEB, and Midcoast Watersheds Council. Sitka Center and SDCWC are partners and have supplied office space, volunteers, and other support.
Crowley Creek
(2007)In the spring and fall of 2007, over 400 native trees and shrubs were planted in the riparian area of Crowley Creek. They were protect from grazing by fencing. A pile of gravel was removed. As of late summer 2008, the plants are doing very well and will soon provide important habitat characteristics. The plantings have been maintained by Career Tech High Natural Resources Crew, volunteers, and the fisher crew.
Lower Salmon and Siletz Riparian Restoration (Fishers Grant)
(2007-2008)Final Report (year 1)
Final Report (year 2)
In spring of 2007, four commercial fishermen adversly affected by the poor 2006 salmon season were hired to do riparian restoration projects in the lower Salmon River and Siletz watersheds. They planted spruce, cedar, and hemlock trees; built protection fences, and cleared invasive species such as Scothch broom and Himalayan blackberry. The watershed council received a follow-up grant through the same program, which is funded by OWEB.
Rock Creek Dam
(2006) After a long process, SDCWC and partners Lincoln City and Devils Lake Water Improvement District removed a small dam on Rock Creek that was blocking fish passage to upstream habitat. This was accomplished through OWEB funding and quite a bit of volunteer labor. Rock Creek is an important stream for wild Coho. An state award was given to SDCWC and partners for this project.Capacity Building and Planning
(ongoing) The SDCWC has received a series of grants from the NFF that have helped to fund and train staff and support our projects. In addition to capacity building grants, NFF has supplied mentorship and media consultant help as well as general workshops.Water Quality Monitoring
(ongoing)2007 Final Report
The watershed council conducts biweekly sampling and analysis of water quality (bacteria, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, turbidity, pH, and flow) in the Salmon River, Schooner Creek, Devil's Lake, and Drift Creek basins. This data is partially in support of the DEQ process of establishing total maximum daily loads (TMDLS) for Salmon River and Thompson Creek, which have been 303(d) listed for temperature and dissolved oxygen. This work is funded by OWEB and DEQ and depends on many volunteer hours.