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$158,370 Habitat Restoration Grant will Translate into Green Jobs
Alsea, OR — The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) has granted the MidCoast Watersheds Council $158,370 to restore Bummer Creek – translating into potential new jobs and habitat improvement for the coast.
The work began in 2005 with a study to determine which factors limit fish from using the entirety of Bummer Creek as their habitat. Gaining access from its headwaters on Prairie Mountain to its confluence with the South Fork of the Alsea River required the cooperation of 25 private landowners, including industrial forest landowners and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Two main issues were identified: excessive summer water temperatures and insufficient spawning gravel. Steve Trask of Bio-Surveys, LLC, a local biological consultant, created a prioritized list of actions to fix these conditions. Importantly, this "to do" list of activities balances the needs of the fish with the needs of the people who live along the creek who use their property for their home, for agriculture, and to graze livestock. Agreeing to a list of activities that will achieve all of the desired objectives requires a lot of trust, collaboration and fiscal support.
The main activities are the planting of native trees, including the conversion of a Christmas tree farm into a Douglas fir forest; fencing to keep cattle out of the stream; and the replacement of two culverts.
Loggers will transport 162 trees from higher land down to the creek. Then an excavator will place these trees to simulate 30 log jams. Workers will remove reed canary grass and blackberries before planting 13,600 trees (Douglas firs, willows, alders). In summers, these trees will shade the stream so that it remains cool; in winters, leaves and woody debris (including future large logs) fall in to the stream adding to its health. Livestock will be kept away from the fragile river banks after 8,399 feet of fencing is installed. Finally, two culverts, which currently act as a barrier to fish swimming up and downstream will be replaced.
"This couldn't have been done had we not had the total cooperation with those living along the creek," said Project Manager Steve Trask of Bio-Surveys, LLC. "Thanks to the landowners and their commitment to the partnership, we will address many of the current limitations to salmonids in 3.1 miles of lowland stream, including two of the most highly valued salmonid anchor habitats identified in the preliminary planning process. It will be a multi-year commitment, require substantial manpower, and it'll be local contractors doing the work."
At the March 2009 OWEB Board Meeting held in Salem, the Board voted to support over 100 projects, an investment of over $10 million across the state. According to the University of Oregon's Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP), these projects have considerable economic impact and job creation potential in addition to their environmental benefits. Every dollar invested in watershed restoration multiplies through the economy and helps sustain local communities. The EWP analysis concludes that the average impact of each $1 million invested by OWEB results in 15 jobs and an additional $1.86 million in total economic activity that stays in Oregon. Examples of other projects around Oregon follow.
On a tributary of the Umpqua, a helicopter will be used to place 120 trees along two miles of a creek, employing the helicopter pilot as well as on-the-ground crew. These restoration workers will purchase goods and services from the community.
Not far from Hood River, the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will remove a washed-out forest road that runs along Neal Creek for the benefit of fish, downstream landowners, and the economy. "The positive impact of removing the road is huge. We'll be creating better habitat for fish such as winter steelhead, we'll be protecting property and helping people downstream, and we'll be hiring people from the local community to do the work. They live here, they shop here. The money they earn stays in the area," said Anne Saxby, District Manager of the Hood River SWCD.
In the Willamette Valley, The Nature Conservancy will employ local contractors and nurseries to restore some of the rarest ecosystems in Oregon, native prairies. Much of the work is living wage kind of jobs: heavy equipment operators, logging, weed spraying that in turn helps drive demand for the production of durable goods like bobcat tractors and chainsaws. This work also supports rural economies, including the nursery industry that has been especially hit by the drop in home construction.
The Wheeler Soil Water and Conservation District (Wheeler SWCD) will receive funding for the second phase of the Middle John Day / North Fork restoration project. The majority of OWEB funding will go directly for project management and on-the-job engineers. "All of the contractors that we hired to do this work are from Central Oregon and a lot of the money they earn goes right back in to their communities. In addition, 75% of the materials used for these projects come from Oregon," said Gabe Williams, Project Manager at the Wheeler SWCD.
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) administers a grant program funded from the Oregon Lottery as a result of a citizen initiative in 1998. These funds will support the capacity of local citizen groups to carry out a variety of restoration projects; promote understanding of watershed needs; provide technical skills to those working to restore urban and rural watersheds, and monitor the effectiveness of these investments. OWEB fosters collaboration and partners with citizens, local governments, state and federal agencies, tribes, and industries.
For more information, visit the OWEB Web site at www.oregon.gov/OWEB.
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