Oregon Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative

Starting in 1994, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff, with funding support from the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation (OWHF), produced a series of guidance documents designed to direct cooperative and effective stream habitat restoration action in coastal basins. The "Guides" functioned as the catalyst that has facilitated a growing effort involving state agency staff, industrial forest landowners, smaller landowners, and other interest groups. By selecting and describing the characteristics of stream reaches with high potential for restoration work, and by encouraging the application of functional approaches to instream work, this process has led to the implementation of over 60 successful projects to date. Field biologists have been funded and work completed under the general direction of cooperative steering committees on the North Coast and Mid Coast regions. Funding support comes from the direct contributions of the industrial landowners, grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board, the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, the Restoration and Enhancement Board, "in-kind" contributions by landowners, and other sources.

The development of the guides was initiated as an outgrowth of discussions held between the OWHF and ODFW regarding the need for a regional approach to stream restoration efforts. There was a high level of interest in such work, but prior experience with restoration programs showed that better scientific guidance was needed to focus effort. A plan was needed to outline the conceptual framework for both the "where" and "how" of new restoration activities. Identifying and prioritizing stream reaches appropriate for projects relied heavily on stream survey data collected by ODFW's Aquatic Inventory Project. Direction for the types of work to be done came from the results of research studies that tested the effectiveness of in channel work. The studies showed that woody debris placement using very large material, and the development of off-channel habitats, could create habitats that resulted in increased freshwater survival, particularly over winter survival, of coho salmon and steelhead.

Areas now covered by these restoration guides, and the date that each guide was completed:

Tillamook/North Coast	November 1994
Lower Columbia	April 1995
Mid-Coast - Lincoln and Siuslaw Districts	November 1995
South Coast	November 1995
Umpqua Basin	December 1996
Tillamook - Supplement to 1994 Guide	January 1997
Coos and Coquille Basins	April 1997
North Coast - Supplement to 1994 Guide	Spring 1997
Upper Rogue	Spring 1997

Development of the Guides

Within each of the project areas, the list of potential restoration reaches was compiled based on analysis of Aquatic Habitat Inventory data and the recommendations of ODFW biologists. The work is designed to complement and expand on ongoing habitat protection and restoration efforts where such programs are in place. The selected reaches may be suitable for various instream and riparian-zone restoration activities specific to perceived limiting factors, thereby increasing capacity to produce salmonids. Selected reaches have relatively low gradient (usually < 3%, always <5%), moderate active channel width (3-12 meters), and are within relatively broad valleys. These physical characteristics offer the highest potential capacity to support juvenile anadromous fish. These characteristics also are associated with depositional or response reaches of streams, areas that are likely to retain the instream structures at high flows and have good potential for the development of off channel habitats. The approach to instream work is to introduce functional materials (logs 20-40 inches in diameter and longer than 1.5 times the channel width) that are intended to help restore natural stream processes to a condition that will support more production of anadromous fish. Logs of this size are referred to as "key pieces"; they form the backbone for improved habitat by helping to scour deeper pools or retain additional LWD, branches, and gravel substrate.

The selection process results in a significant screening of potential sites. On the North Coast, for example, the initial guide considered over 350 candidate stream reaches and recommended restoration work at 60 sites. In the Umpqua Basin, which is larger and has more streams surveyed, data from almost 1,200 stream reaches were screened to identify 215 potential restoration sites. The sites are primarily on private industrial timber lands. In addition to the selection of sites, the guides provide summaries of key habitat features (e.g., stream size, gradient, substrate, shade, existing LWD, etc.) that help direct the first levels of planning the restoration activities. In every case, selected streams were further evaluated, including field visits, before making further commitments to project design or project implementation. The guides recommend additional screening of sites, checking on issues of water quality, adequate culverts and associated roads, before project plans are finalized.

The projects proposed in the guides were not necessarily tied to a harvest plan, and involve the use of material that is larger than material generally used in past projects. Recent research on stream restoration techniques has allowed us to greatly improve the effectiveness of our efforts in placing large woody debris in channels and alcoves adjacent to streams. Early monitoring results for the North Coast Project also show that complex jams comprised of 3-4 key pieces are most effective at trapping additional material and have improved ability to function dynamically at high flows, including the ability to continue functioning despite high flows associated with flood events (e.g., February 1996 storm). We have also learned that large pieces arrayed in complexes provide better overwintering habitat for coho and other salmonids.

In the guide nearing completion for the Coos-Coquille area, the pattern of streams in the basin, streams with surveys, and stream reaches selected as candidates for restoration action are shown in Figure 1. The overall scope of the project, including area covered by the guides, is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1: Pattern of streams, Aquatic Inventory Stream Surveys, and proposed restoration reaches in the Coos Coquille Basin

Existing Habitat Conditions: Rationale for Stream Enhancement Work

Streams and their watersheds throughout Oregon vary widely in their natural capacities for fish habitat quality as well as the type and degree of change that has resulted from land and resource management. ODFW, in its Aquatic Inventory Project, has surveyed habitat characteristics and fish habitat use in over six thousand miles of Oregon streams between 1990 and 1996. The analysis of the survey data has improved our understanding of stream conditions. This work also has provided some of the rationale for choosing appropriate stream, riparian, and watershed restoration techniques and for locating sites with high restoration potential.

Although the potential development of stream habitat conditions differ within templates of ecoregion, topography, and the disturbance history of individual watersheds, the survey results lead to some generalized conclusions about habitat conditions. For example, the Nehalem River Basin, with a high proportion of industrial forest lands, has habitat conditions representative of many other coastal basins. An analysis of stream survey data from the Nehalem basin shows that there is a general lack of complex pool habitats, large woody debris in stream channels, and mature conifers in riparian zones. Pools occur frequently, but they tend to be small and lacking in complexity. Average pool depth relative to riffle depth is low compared to streams with more abundant woody debris. Over 70 percent of the total stream length surveyed had poor to fair values for large woody debris. Furthermore, the opportunity for future recruitment of large and persistent woody debris is low because conifers, particularly those 20 inches or greater in diameter, are frequently absent from the riparian zones. The alders that typically dominate riparian zones provide adequate stream shading, but the woody debris that they contribute decays too rapidly to provide long-lasting instream structure and complexity. The development of habitat complexity is further limited in many streams that have channels isolated from their floodplains by downcutting or channelization. These streams have little opportunity to develop off-channel habitats such as side channels and alcoves.

Acute "problems" in the physical habitat condition of coastal streams are comparatively rare. Bank erosion is very low in most forested lands, and the amount of fine sediment observed in the stream bed is generally acceptable, although sediment levels vary widely between regions. In contrast to the low frequency of acute problems that may cause direct mortality of fish, other, more chronic problems contribute lower than desired productivity of these stream systems. The overall picture is of extensive stream reaches with sparse large woody debris, little or no potential recruitment for large wood, low summer habitat complexity, and limited winter off-channel and refuge habitat. These problems however, can be addressed through a sequential process of LWD introduction (short term), improved road and culvert condition (short term to long term), and modified riparian silviculture and upslope management (long term).

To address some of these issues, projects have focused on large woody debris placement to create deeper pools and add channel complexity. Slackwater and pool habitat for increasing over-winter survival of juvenile salmon have been increased by constructing side channels and alcoves. Conifer growth has been fostered in riparian zones through planting and hardwood thinning in an effort to secure a future supply of persistent large woody debris.

Conceptual Approach

Habitat restoration work based on recommendations in the restoration guides should, collectively and over time, result in a substantially improved smolt production capacity. Another expectation is that the projects provide a base of ecological support, possibly helping to maintain some coho populations that are at precariously low levels, until other restoration measures take effect. Further, we believe that conduct of the work described in these reports is an essential element of educating the public, landowners, and resource managers about the habitat needs of salmon and the challenges of attempting to restore these habitats to more favorable conditions. Overall, successful restoration will be achieved only by addressing limiting factors that may occur throughout the entire salmon life cycle.

As we examine more streams to identify reaches with highest potential for restoration, we remain convinced that the work we are proposing will not, by itself, achieve lasting recovery of depressed salmonid populations. As we examine more streams, also, we become more convinced that instream and riparian-zone restoration efforts are an essential component of the Oregon Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative Conservation Plan (OCSRI). The productive working relationship between biologists and land managers to plan and implement the instream projects is an additional benefit of this process. This cooperation leads to shared understanding and has opened the door for discussions of other issues (culvert replacement, allowing beaver activity in important areas, etc.) and provided incentive and momentum for voluntary actions by landowners to protect stream and riparian habitats.

Basins Covered by the Guides

Figure 2: Coastal basins and the development of the Restoration Guides.

Implementing the Restoration Guides

The production of the "guides" was never considered the end-product of the project. The plans and priorities presented in the guides were the starting point for the process of implementation. Recognizing the importance of cooperation for achieving stream and watershed restoration goals; private landowners, interest groups, and natural resource agencies have come together to form working groups. The North Coast Stream Project was the first of such efforts to form around the plans created by the restoration guides. This group got its start at a meeting held November 29, 1994. Attending this meeting were representatives of OWHF, ODFW, Oregon Department of Forestry, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Small Woodlands Association, Oregon Forest Industries Council (OFIC), and seven industrial landowners. The presentation of the North Coast Guide was favorably received by this group, and an organizational committee was formed to proceed with implementation. A permanent steering committee was established, meeting regularly to establish by-laws, set work goals, and, most importantly, to hire a fully funded biologist for a two year period to create detailed plans for the projects and supervise their implementation. Initial funding came directly from the participating industrial landowners and the OWHF. With the adoption of the by-laws, hiring the biologist, and development of the mechanisms to cooperatively fund the in stream work, the effort became formally recognized as the North Coast Stream Project. This process was followed in the creation of the Mid Coast Project and, most recently, the South Coast Project.

It is the intention of OWHF and ODFW to establish similar steering committees and hire biologists for the remaining coastal basins. As part of the OCSRI Conservation Plan, permanent funding is recommended for up to seven biologists to work specifically on habitat projects and issues related to private landowners. Funding for these positions is established in the package developed by OFIC. The Oregon Department of Forestry also has budgeted funding for a similar position to start work in the Tillamook State Forest in 1997.

Project Planning

The biologists hired through this process operate under the supervision of ODFW's District Biologists and within the general procedures outlined in the guides. Provision is made to adapt methods, to expand the scope of work, and to make changes or additions to the list of priority sites. Overall, the restoration work and methods are intended to restore natural ecological functions. The use of very large pieces of wood, anchored without cables, closely mimics the natural process of wood recruitment to the stream. Augmenting existing pieces of wood and placing them in "natural' configurations allows the wood to shift short distances, creating habitat that reflects the hydraulics of the channel. Techniques learned while constructing projects and subsequent evaluation are shared in ODFW workshops and at professional societies and conferences. An internal "peer review" process has been developed for projects in ODFW's Northwest Region. In all regions, projects plans are reviewed by, and subject to, the final approval of the respective steering committees.

Detailed pre-project plans provide clear information on current stream conditions, goals of the project, specific location and type of in channel activities (Figure 3), and outline the plan for follow up evaluation and monitoring. These plans record the project and guide both the biologist and land managers in project design and layout. The biologists have the responsibility to cooperatively schedule operations, obtain appropriate materials, and be on-site with equipment operators as they complete the work.

Figure 4: Example of a site plan from North Fork Rock Creek in the Nehalem basin. In this, and the adjacent project area, a total of 1200 meters of stream channel was treated.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation of projects are an integral component of North Coast Stream Project and Mid Coast Stream Project. Monitoring plans will be developed for the South Coast Project and the other basins as they form their implementation committees. Funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundations required the inclusion of monitoring efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of projects. Beyond this requirement, the steering committees of both projects have been enthusiastic supporters of monitoring, in terms of both cooperation and funding.

The monitoring plans associated with these projects are developed in cooperation with the overall Monitoring Program of OCSRI. Monitoring activities associated with the North Coast and Mid Coast projects share protocols proposed for OCSRI including: stream channel assessment, project mapping, adult spawner counts, juvenile population estimates, and post-project and post-storm evaluation. Most of the monitoring is focused on the physical evaluation of the habitat structures, but adult and juvenile counts provide a general index of the utilization and effectiveness of the structures.

New monitoring efforts funded for 1997 and 1998 by the projects will contribute to core and index assessment and monitoring (Task 9 of the Monitoring Program) by adding to the network of monitored sub-basins. This effort will coordinate with other monitoring tasks and directly contribute to better estimates of freshwater and marine survival rates and the level of the coho Gene Conservation Group.

Monitoring of instream structures for both physical function and biologic response improves project design and construction. We are learning that structures that mimic natural levels of large woody debris, and that are placed in channel types that allow positive interactions with high flow, provide the best, and sometimes the most cost effective, approaches to stream enhancement.

Plans for improved monitoring of stream enhancement projects, general freshwater production, and salmon population trends, will be an important part of the OCSRI. The projects developed from the habitat restoration guides are well documented and include monitoring components. Other habitat restoration work, done through watershed associations, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and by other initiative groups (Umpqua Basin Fisheries Restoration Initiative for example) also document their work and contribute to overall evaluation of restoration efforts.

The Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) has funded the development of reporting mechanisms designed to capture the full scope of restoration work. Initially limited to private lands, this program has expanded to include all cooperative efforts and is recommended for new funding and staff support in GWEB. The OFRI project created a report and database for projects completed through 1995. Current effort will document additional projects completed in 1996. The database, and both electronic and paper versions of the input forms are available from ODFW, Corvallis. The database structure and reporting system are designed to allow efficient reporting of future projects, share the results and techniques of successful projects, and enhance the contribution that landowners are making to improved stream habitat.

Conclusions

The production of Restoration Guides, based on analysis of stream habitat data and supported by local initiative groups like the North Coast Project, has proven to be an effective mechanism for the implementation of ecologically functional restoration projects. This process has developed in contrast to earlier efforts that applied projects based primarily on the cooperation of a single landowner, short-term need to expend funds, or across-the-board application of "prescription" and "band-aid" approaches. Ongoing evaluation and monitoring of projects is needed to support continued evolution of project design, site selection, and to develop appropriate techniques. The restoration projects do not mitigate for habitat losses or minimize the need for good upslope and riparian management. However, effective projects can help to maintain and enhance habitat and populations as improved land management and other OCSRI management actions work to resolve habitat problems. The general expectation is that these projects will play a critical role in improving freshwater production, helping to maintain fish populations in conjunction with other management actions such as protective ocean harvest rates and modified hatchery practices. Also, the construction of stream enhancement projects lies within the context of improved forest management practices designed to protect water quality, develop coniferous forest stands in suitable riparian areas, and to provide for future sources of large woody debris.

Figure 4: Habitat restoration projects from 1990 to 1996 associated with private forest landowners. Of the 1995 and 1996 totals, sixty projects were associated with the ODFW/OWHF restoration guides. (Data from: Maleki, S., and K. Moore. 1996. Stream Habitat Improvement on Private Industrial Forest Lands. ODFW Corvallis and Oregon Forest Resources Institute. 35p.)

The rate of private forest landowner participation in stream restoration and enhancement projects has increased dramatically over the last six years (Figure 4). We expect that the current level of participation will be sustained for some time. Given this level of interest and funding, it is essential that projects and their implementation programs rely on the best planning and techniques available. Overly mechanistic approaches of the past have not been very successful. New approaches that combine working with natural stream process with the introduction of ecologically functional materials hold better promise. The examples of implementation and monitoring associated with the production of the Habitat Restoration Guides support this optimism.