In the course of agricultural, road-building and mining activity by settlers, many reaches along the Middle Fork were artificially straightened. During this process, they lost their historic diversity of habitat types. Instead of winding channels with a variety of islands, pools, riffles, and log jams, these straightened channels turned into homogeneous ditches with very little variety.
In stream habitat enhancement aims to reverse this process of channel simplification by re-introducing habitat diversity, which will increase resting areas for migrating adult salmon, provide juveniles with plenty of places to hide, rest, and feed, enhance the channel’s ability to naturally migrate and sort sediment, and decrease channel gradient (steepness) to help reduce erosion. Project types include placement of large woody debris, engineered log jams, and excavation of pool habitat.
In stream habitat enhancement aims to reverse this process of channel simplification by re-introducing habitat diversity, which will increase resting areas for migrating adult salmon, provide juveniles with plenty of places to hide, rest, and feed, enhance the channel’s ability to naturally migrate and sort sediment, and decrease channel gradient (steepness) to help reduce erosion. Project types include placement of large woody debris, engineered log jams, and excavation of pool habitat.
The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon own and manage the Oxbow Conservation Area, a 1,022 acre property along the Middle Fork of the John Day River. Since acquiring the property in 2001, the Tribes have been working to protect existing habitat and restore degraded habitat for Chinook salmon, steelhead, and other types of fish and wildlife. The Oxbow Tailings Project is a three-phase project to restore fish habitat on part of the property that was severely impacted by dredge mining in the 1940s and ‘50s. To some degree it involves restoration of other types (riparian planting and channel reconfiguration), but it also involves quite a bit of in-stream habitat enhancement via addition of large wood and pool excavation.
To learn more, watch the videos below!
To learn more, watch the videos below!
Overview of Oxbow restoration
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Phase 1 Timelapse
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Phase 2 Timelapse
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Phase 2-3 Overview
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Phase 3 Overview
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