Oregon — The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has completed a summer stream enhancement project on Rock Creek aimed at improving fish habitat, restoring natural stream processes, and strengthening water quality in a key tributary of the Nehalem River.
“The goal of this project was to restore natural stream processes and instream complexity by placing large wood into the stream channel to improve spawning and rearing habitat, fish production, and water quality,” said Erik Moberly, Aquatic and Riparian Specialist for ODF’s State Forest Division. “The trees, some with root wads attached, that were placed will help influence the formation of pools, spawning gravels, and provide cover for aquatic species.”
Rock Creek supports several anadromous fish species, including ESA-listed Coho salmon, fall Chinook, winter steelhead, Pacific lamprey, cutthroat trout, and other native species. To support habitat recovery, crews selected trees from an adjacent timber sale based on size and stream needs. Bighorn Logging of Banks, Oregon, placed the wood using an excavator—an improvement over the originally planned cable-yarder method after Stimson Lumber granted access to its road network, allowing more precise placement.
ODF installed 30 trees across five sites, enhancing roughly 1,000 feet of stream. Project costs totaled about $5,000, excluding planning and staff time. “Mike Morton, a road specialist from the Forest Grove District, administered the contract from a nearby timber sale where the trees originated from and assisted with the project to help keep costs down,” Moberly added. “With the trees already being felled and operators on-site it’s a commonsense approach. We also partner with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, private landowners and operators, and in many cases non-profit groups like local watershed councils.”
Moberly noted that the project reflects the broader mission of Oregon’s State Forests. “State Forest lands are actively managed under forest management plans to provide economic, environmental, and social benefits to Oregonians,” he said. “Projects like these positively impact all three of those goals.”
More information on Oregon’s State Forests is available on the ODF website.
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