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Coastal Restoration Projects Considered Among $11.7 Million in Requests for Watershed Restoration Projects, Research and Education.
March 18, 2008
News media contacts:
• Carolyn Devine, OWEB Communications Coordinator, 503-986-0195
• Tom Shafer, OWEB Regional Program Representative, 541-528-7451
• Denise Lofman, Tillamook Bay Watershed Council, 503-322-0002
Note to editors/reporters: Following the board meeting, we welcome you contacting us for information on specific projects in your region.
Highlight of one Coastal Restoration Project.
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) will consider proposals to award more than $11.7 million for projects and programs that will benefit rivers and water quality across the state. The meetings will be held March 19-20, 2008 in Medford at the Red Lion Hotel, 200 N. Riverside Ave. Both days begin at 8 a.m. For more information, visit the OWEB Web site at www.oregon.gov/OWEB or call 503-986-0178.
Across the state, the Board will consider 141 investments in on-the-ground restoration projects. An example of a project along the coast proposes to use a Chinook helicopter to transport and place large trees into the stream and floodplain of Elkhorn Creek in the Trask River basin in the Tillamook Bay watershed. Denise Lofman, Executive Director of the Tillamook Bay Watershed Council stated, "The council is delighted to be assisting with this project as one of seven different agency and organizational partners. We are building on previous work done in this anchor habitat area, as research has shown improving winter habitat is a priority for increasing the health of coast coho salmon populations." Snorkel surveys in the summer reveal the highest counts of coho by far than any other part of the entire Tillamook Bay watershed. Follow-up winter snorkel surveys done after high flow events showed an almost total absence of those fry, indicating the juveniles either died or were swept downstream by the high flows. The project is designed to address the primary factor limiting production of coho in the Elkhorn system by increasing complexity and providing off-channel, slow water habitats. The result of this work is that during storms and other times of high river flows, juvenile salmon will be able to find a place of refuge and will not be fatally swept downstream as is currently the case. This is just one of the 140 other restoration projects that the board will consider funding. These projects take place on-the-ground, in every region of the state. For a complete list, please visit OWEB’s website, www.oregon.gov/OWEB.
OWEB is a state agency led by a 17-member citizen board. OWEB provides grants and services to landowners, citizen groups, organizations and agencies working to restore healthy streams, lakes and rivers in Oregon. Funding comes from the Oregon Lottery as a result of a citizen initiative in 1998, sales of salmon license plates, federal salmon funds and other sources.
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