Tillamook State Forest, OR. — The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) recently completed a major stream enhancement project on Gales Creek in the Tillamook State Forest aimed at improving fish habitat and water quality.
“The goal of this project is to restore natural stream processes and instream complexity by placing large wood into the stream channel to improve physical habitat, fish production, and water quality,” said Erik Moberly, Aquatic and Riparian Specialist for ODF’s State Forests Division. “The trees, some with attached root wads, that were placed will help influence the formation of pools, spawning gravels, and provide cover for aquatic-dependent species.”
Gales Creek, a tributary of the Tualatin River in Washington County, supports several fish species, including Endangered Species Act-listed Coho Salmon and Winter Steelhead, as well as Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout.
To reduce costs, trees selected from a nearby timber sale were placed into the stream using an excavator. In total, nine placement sites were completed on Gales Creek and a tributary, while six were completed on the North Fork Gales Creek. The project used 84 trees — 30 with attached root wads and 54 without — to enhance about 2,900 feet of stream at a total cost of roughly $20,000.
This effort builds on prior restoration projects. In 2009, ODF partnered with the Tualatin River Watershed Council (TWRC), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Stimson Lumber Company to enhance a 1.2-mile stretch of North Fork Gales Creek using over 100 logs. Another project in 2011, also with TWRC and ODFW, placed 70 logs in the stream near Gales Creek Campground.
“State Forest lands are actively managed under forest management plans to provide economic, environmental, and social benefits to Oregonians,” Moberly said. “Projects like these positively impact all three of those goals.”
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