The Evaluating Ecological and Geomorphic Responses to Stage 0 Restoration Monitoring Project is a multi-disciplinary study coordinated by the McKenzie Watershed Council (MWC) to examine short-term responses to Stage 0 restoration on the South Fork McKenzie River (SFMR), apply new monitoring approaches, define the Stage 0 practice, and synthesize existing data from similar restoration sites in Oregon.
In July 2023, the MWC completed final monitoring reports to summarize the findings from the monitoring efforts that began in 2020. Several partners participated and completed related reports. Below is a summary including but not limited to the following reports:
A peer-reviewed journal article titled “Rehabilitating Valley Floors to a Stage 0 Condition: A Synthesis of Opening Outcomes” led by the USFS PNW Research Station presents an initial synthesis of results from monitoring activities across several stage 0 restoration projects in the PNW that provide a foundation for understanding the effects of this approach of river rehabilitation on a variety of metrics.
PNW, OSU, and CSU researchers applied novel methods to monitor geomorphic response to SFMR restoration. The team’s final report quantified inundated area, amounts of large instream wood, sediment size, water surface velocity, and water temperature from UAS photogrammetry, thermography, and multispectral orthomosaics.
The UAS surveys were coordinated with paired field measurements for all metrics except inundated areas to calibrate and validate the remotely sensed data methods described in Hinshaw et al. (2022).
UAS data documented significant increases in inundation area, including a notable increase of wetted edge habitat. The approach used to assess large wood reflects new methods reported by Barker et al. (2022).
ODFW partnered with WNF to study juvenile Chinook salmon and native trout at the Phase 1 and 2 restoration project areas. The study documented extensive salmonid rearing use within Phases 1 and 2. The study also conducted Chinook spawning surveys in 2019, 2021, and 2022 and recorded much higher redd counts in Phases 1 and 2 after restoration. This report summarizes ODFW's survey efforts during the project period.
To understand how restoration to a Stage 0 condition impacts a broader range of biological communities, PNW teamed with WNF and the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center to complete an eDNA analysis of samples collected along field transects. The results demonstrated an increase in focal species detections, suggesting that as restoration increased habitat diversity and complexity, a more diverse collection of species occupied the habitat. The study findings, described in this report, showed that aquatic biodiversity can be inventoried using eDNA metabarcoding, and multiple species can be assessed simultaneously by the approach.
OSU and PNW assessed primary and secondary biological productivity and abundance of focal fish species at the SFMR to better understand the effects of restoration. Researchers sampled benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) communities and fish diets in Phase 1 restoration and two upstream, unrestored reaches on a seasonal basis. The diverse aquatic habitat patches created by the restoration hosted a greater diversity of BMI assemblages relative to the unrestored reaches, and fish diet assemblages appeared more complex in Phase 1 relative to the controls. These findings suggest enhanced biological production may be driven by increased wetted area, at least in the short term. This report describes the study findings.
In March 2024, OWEB provided an effectiveness monitoring grant to the MWC to continue this monitoring effort through 2025. OWEB funding will support MWC to assess the effects of restoration on three reaches along the SF McKenzie River. This monitoring proposal will support continued monitoring before a third phase of habitat restoration is anticipated to be completed in 2025. The proposed work will continue ODFW’s monitoring of juvenile Chinook salmon, remote sensing, and ground-based monitoring activities and ensure long-term public availability of remote sensing data collected during the initial monitoring phase and those collected during this proposed work.