| News and Events |
 |
|
 |
|
|
Board funds Five Rivers road relocation study
Sept. 24, 2007
News media contact:
- Wayne Hoffman, MidCoast Watershed Council, (541) 265-9195
- Tom Shafer, OWEB Regional Program Representative, (541) 528-7451
Editors/reporters: A complete list by county of funded projects approved by the OWEB Board is posted on OWEB’s Website at: www.oregon.gov/OWEB. Click on “News and Announcements.”
Purpose: Give young salmon access to cooler water upstream
The MidCoast Watershed Council has received approximately $50,000 to plan changes to a road that blocks fish passage on a stretch of Five Rivers, which is the largest tributary to the Alsea River.
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board recently approved funds for the study, which has a total cost of about $64,000.
The fish barrier occurs at River Mile 19 in the Lane County portion of the stream that also flows through Lincoln County before joining the Alsea. In 1957, a project to straighten and shorten a road in the Five Rivers valley diverted the river over a series of rock ledges. The ledges are about 14 feet high and create a barrier to most fish at most water levels. In 1963, a fishway was constructed, but the design does not allow passage of young salmon to cooler upstream water, which is essential for their summer survival.
“This project will identify the optimal solution for providing free passage around a unique barrier that restricts access for fish to several miles of high-quality habitat,” said Wayne Hoffman, coordinator of the MidCoast Watershed Council, which applied for the grant and will coordinate the study process.
An engineering consulting firm will be hired to conduct a study of options to return the river to its natural channel. “We will look at changing the location of the road and building as many as three bridges,” Hoffman said. “The funds from OWEB are critical for obtaining engineering expertise to evaluate the options,” he noted.
Five Rivers supports a strong population of fall Chinook salmon as well as populations of coho, steelhead and cutthroat trout, Hoffman reported.
Project partners include the Siuslaw National Forest and an OSU engineering professor who donated professional services.
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board consists of 17 members. They represent the public at large, tribes, state natural resource agency boards and commissions, the Oregon State University Extension Service, and federal natural resource agencies. The board is supported by a state agency of the same name that provides grants and services to citizen groups, organizations and agencies working to restore healthy watersheds in Oregon. OWEB actions support the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, created in 1997. 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. For more information, visit www.oregon.gov/OWEB or call OWEB in Salem at 503-986-0178.
##############
|
|
|
|
