Habitat Restoration & GIS Analysis of a Salmon Stream: Soda Fork Creek, South Santiam Basin, Linn County, Oregon
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Date
2016-06
Authors
Walton, Dean
Stroud, Kathy
Lawless, Stephanie
Arnold, Amber
Bulgarelli, Kaitlyn
Clement, Lilli
Dally, Jessica
Eberhardt, Lillian
Harlan, Zachary
Johnson, Zoe
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Socieity for Conservation GIS
Abstract
The Soda Fork Creek project was designed by the Willamette National Forest Sweet Home Ranger District and the South Santiam Watershed Council to improve spawning habitat and stream complexity in Soda Fork Creek. The project involved pulling 34 large, live, stream-adjacent trees with root wads attached, into the stream channel. The total cost was $128,000, which included a large skidder outfitted with a 40,000 pound winch that pulled the trees into the water.
Soda Fork Creek provides important spawning habitat for native fish species, such as the threatened winter steelhead. The habitat in the creek has been impacted by land use practices such as timber harvesting, road building, and active removal of large wood from the stream channel. The removal of large wood allowed the gravels to be washed away, leaving no spawning habitat. Threatened winter steelhead have not spawned in this stream for decades.
This research looks at how dropping trees into the Soda Creek System changed stream conditions and whether these changes improved habit for native fish species.
Description
Keywords
Water Quality, stream restoration, GIS, McKenzie River
Citation
Amber Arnold, Kaitlyn Bulgarelli, Lilli Clement, Jessica Dally, Lillian Eberhardt, Zachary Harlan, Zoe Johnson, Lily Kadrmas, Aaron McAndrews, Ethan Reeder, Sophia Perez, Jesse Moseley - In-Stream Habitat Assessment Water Team -Thurston High School; Jared Weybright, Jennifer Weber - McKenzie Watershed Council; Stephanie Lawless - The WELL Project; Dean Walton & Kathy Stroud - University of Oregon. (2016, June) Habitat Restoration & GIS Analysis of a Salmon Stream: Soda Fork Creek, South Santiam Basin, Linn County, Oregon [Poster]. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS), Pacific Grove, CA.