Obliterating Roads, Building Bridges

... and other fun things to do on the Oregon Coast.

On August 28th, a small crew of volunteers met at the Seaside Golf Course in, you guessed it, Seaside, Oregon.  Folks from Save Our Wild Salmon, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW), the Rainland Flycasters of Astoria, and the Tualatin Valley and Clackamas River Chapters of Trout Unlimited were on hand. 

Let's back up a second to explain what's going on here...

From Alan Moore – TUs NW Director of Habitat Programs:
A couple of years back, Trout Unlimited secured funding from the NOAA/American Rivers community-based restoration program and technical assistance from ODFW and US Fish & Wildlife Service for the replacement of a large barrier culvert in the middle sections of Circle Creek outside of Seaside, Oregon. Circle Creek is a major tributary of the Necanicum River used by coho, winter steelhead, coastal cutthroat, lamprey and some fall chinook salmon.

Now we're seeing projects undertaken by Trout Unlimited and all the wonderful partners working here from the Necanicum watershed’s headwalls down through the tidewater, which is pretty cool to see.  Currently, TU is a partner in 5 active project sites in the Necanicum River watershed, with more on the way soon. Here are two examples:

Road Obliteration

On August 21st, 2010, a small very non-elite team went up to the headwaters of Circle Creek to apply some post-obliteration TLC to a section of old logging road running alongside the headwaters up on Tillamook Head in the Necanicum watershed on the North Coast. In the works for a couple of years now, this project is funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and is a joint effort by ODFW and The Campbell Group, owner of the property as part of over 140,000 acres purchased from Weyerhaeuser Co.

Special thanks to TU Specialists Rod Lundberg and John Arnold for donating their Saturdays and to add some finishing touches before we step back and let Mother Nature – and happy hydrological and forest functions along Circle Creek - reclaim the area.

Our mission - led by Tualatin Valley TU stalwart, Necanicum Local Legend and 2009 National Betty Winn Award for Sea Run Conservation Winner Doug Ray - was to spread some bullrush thatch we cut earlier in the day over some selected terraces along the road obliteration where a week or so earlier Doug and Amy Horstman from USFWS had seeded with native stock.

This is not your grandma's road obliteration: each foot was carefully designed and executed for maximum ecological response. Kudos to Troy Laws at ODFW and Doug for having the vision and to Campbell Group and a patient excavator operator for allowing it to come to fruition. For example, where Doug and his crew knew there were sidehill seeps they constructed little pond basins as they ripped out the road prism to fill for amphibians, and while we were looking at one we were joined by a large female Northern Red-Legged frog taking up residence there already - a highlighted species in the Oregon Conservation Strategy!

Bridge Building
confluence of Circle Creek and the Necanicum River

Here again is Alan Moore:

While the small motley crew was putting the finishing touches on the project in the headwaters, I got a call from Troy Laws at ODFW.  We got the go ahead to complete a project at the very opposite end of Circle Creek: replace the triple-barrel culvert complex (and concrete path) over Circle Creek at the confluence with the mainstem Necanicum. Michael Ellis, Conservation Director of the Tualatin Valley Chapter of TU, led a crack team of construction experts (and others, like me) to the confluence project on Saturday, August 28th. 

Wielding slegehammers and drills, volunteers attached the surface timbers to the bridge's incredibly robust superstructure, much of which was recycled from an old bridge removed from the hatchery at Clatskanie.

What's important about this view of the bridge - and the whole project  - is the huge concrete plug and the three culvert pipes (which the awkward looking fellow is standing on in the pic) running through it which we can now pull, restoring full passage at all flow levels for all life stages of the many species of fish that use Circle Creek and, critically, tidal ebb and flow well up into Circle Creek, where it's been blocked for decades. That’s the mainstem Necanicum running in front of the culverts; not visible here is Circle Creek backed up behind them. That’s about to change.

There's high-quality habitat just beyond this barrier (including the 365-acre Circle Creek Preserve under the care of the North Coast Land Conservancy, another great TU partner), and all through the Circle Creek drainage, and with its removal and restored hydrologic function, that habitat can once again be fully utilized. The plug and the three pipes will all be pulled this week.

This project was funded in large part by a grant secured in 2009 by the Tualatin Valley Chapter of TU through the Embrace-a-Stream program. Other major contributors include the Rainland Flycasters from Astoria (especially Bob May), Mr. Wayne Fulmer and Seaside Golf Course, ODFW, Big River Construction, TU National, several local businesses who were good to us, and many others.

However, today's loudest golf clap goes to Troy Laws, Fish Bio from ODFW out of the Tillamook Office and North Coast Lifer. This whole thing was Troy's idea and he's managed the project for the duration of its long, often twisted and very bumpy road. We had Troy drive the final "golden spike" in the last timber completing the span on Saturday. We did this not out of recognition, reverence or respect for Troy, but because we realized he hadn't done a damn thing all day and we were about done.

Stay tuned for future news on expanding our partnerships and work into other North Coast watersheds soon. But notice - none of these can be done by TU - or anyone else, effectively - alone. It's all about partnerships, and we're lucky to have many of them, and volunteers. With those two pieces we'll be able to continue and expand what we're all trying to do here, which is restore ecological function and fish - and the quiet satisfaction they bring to the people fortunate enough to visit them now and in the future - to the great watersheds of Oregon's North Coast.

To learn more, and to learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact these guys:
Michael Ellis – conservation director for Tualatin Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited flyfishmde@gmail.com
Alan Moore – TU’s NW Director of Habitat Programs
AMoore@tu.org, (503) 827-5700
Tom Wolf – Council Chair, Oregon Trout Unlimited
tmilowolf@msn.com, 503-640-2123

Thank you, Outdoor Retailers!

a report from Bobby Hayden, national representative for Save Our Wild Salmon

Earlier this month, I headed out to Salt Lake City with Nicole Cordan, our Policy and Legal Director, for the Outdoor Retailer (OR) Summer Market.  It was there that outdoor industry leaders again proved one of our favorite axioms:   
Salmon Mean Business.

Twice a year, the Outdoor Retailer (OR) market attracts thousands of buyers and industry decision makers that are looking for outdoor specific products, services, brands, fresh ideas, apparel launches, and outdoor innovation. Thanks in large part to the amazing work of the Conservation Alliance - a key coalition of businesses within the outdoor retailer industry - OR has become a place for conservation organizations to link up with businesses that want to work with us to protect our nation's land, water, and wildlife. You gotta have wonderful places to use all that great gear, right?.

Brett Ashton from Evolv was "Buster the Wild Snake River Sockeye" for about 72 hours straight.

This summer's OR show was another huge success.  In coordination with Emily Nuchols and Anna Brones at Under Solen Media, we met with industry leaders to update them on the continuing work to recover the one-of-a-kind salmon and steelhead of the Columbia-Snake basin to abundance and return 140 miles of the Snake River to a free-flowing state.

Save Our Wild Salmon was humbled by two great events at the show:

1) Keep-it-Wild Day
A brilliant idea brought to you by the Conservation Alliance. Throughout the day on Wednesday, eight Conservation Alliance member companies hosted grantees (conservation organizations) in their trade show booths. These current and past grantees asked participants to take action to protect a specific place (ours was the Snake River!).  The day culminated with a great party hosted by Keen.

2) Dam Busters w/ Patagonia and SOS
Patagonia, one of our key supporters over the years, hosted a party for Save Our Wild Salmon at their booth (after all, their founder - Yvon Chouinard - is a dam buster!) The gathering was a great way to highlight the ongoing work of the International League of Conservation Photographers to capture the true beauty of the Snake River basin and screen a trailer for an upcoming film on Snake River salmon by the Epicocity Project.

Onlookers mesmerized by the awesome power of the Snake River and its salmon.

Thank you to several of our supporting companies for meeting with us while we were there.  Please support these guys!

Keen, Patagonia, Osprey, Confluence, Outdoor Research, Granite Gear, Black Diamond, Kelty, Evolv, The North Face, Mountain Khakis, Stanley, Petzl, Yakima, Horny Toad, Arc'teryx, Ruff Wear, Nixwax, CamelBak, Dansko, and others!

And thank you to ALL the hundreds of businesses that continue to support our work to restore one-of-a-kind salmon and steelhead.  Check out more info on our support from the outdoor retailer industry and the sportfishing community.

Looking forward to the Winter Market!



-Bobby
bobby@wildsalmon.org

Bringing The Story of Snake River Salmon Home

Save Our Wild Salmon, EP and the International League of Conservation Photographers have joined forces to tell the story of the Snake River's one of a kind salmon and the place they call home.

How do you inspire people to save wild salmon? Give them provocative and beautiful images. That's why we brought in these guys...
Andy and Kyle of the EP crew and Neil of iLCP put some muscle into the game of salmon saving. Thanks guys!

In all seriousness, for the last week, we've waded in the water with sockeye just released into Redfish Lake, crouched on the bank of Marsh Creek watching wild chinook salmon spawning and spent time with the people on the ground in Idaho working so hard to save these fish from extinction.
It's clear the building blocks to recovery are right here in this wild habitat. We just have to get the fish here. And I have to believe that if more people could witness the incredible life salmon — stand on the bank watching a mother salmon knock the flesh off her own body to dig a nest for her babies, or catch a flash of red as a sockeye zipped through the blue waters of Redfish, or witness the last breaths of a spawned out salmon that will return its nutrients to the waters and land of its birth — they'd do what it takes to save them.

And that's why we're here — to bring that story home through images we've captured along the way. To inspire this generation to save wild salmon for us and future generations. Because at the end of the day it's up to us. It will be our actions that decide if we save wild salmon.

Watch for more images and video in the coming months. And take action to save wild salmon today.

PHOTOS © Emily Nuchols

Giving Sockeye A River to Run

Save Our Wild Salmon, the Epicocity Project and the International League of Conservation Photographers have joined forces to tell the story of the Snake River's one of a kind salmon and the place they call home.

I wasn't sure I'd ever see sockeye swimming in Redfish Lake, but over the past few days, we've watched dozens released into the lake and even more swimming upstream to their rugged mountain home.

We've been up and at 'em every morning at dawn to hang out with the good folks of Idaho Fish & Game as they count, record and release endangered sockeye at Redfish Lake Creek just a couple miles from their final destination. After spending a few days with the team, it's impossible not to catch a bit of their excitement over this improved run...

More than 2,000 fish have cleared Lower Granite dam, the last of eight dams, on their way to Redfish — a marked improvement from only 4 fish in 2007. Salmon, if nothing else, are survivors. This summer's stronger return tells us that there's still hope for the world's most endangered salmon. Court-ordered spill and increased hatchery production, combined with good snowpack and ocean conditions, have done wonders for these fish. Now just imaging what could happen if the four largest obstacles in their path to recovery — the four lower Snake River dams — were removed...

While the legendary lake isn't turning red with sockeye this summer, we can see a bright splash of crimson from these iconic fish — a bright spot for all of those working so hard to save them. And we're here to tell that story. Stay tuned for more photos and stories from the field.

PHOTOS © Emily Nuchols

Dam Busters: Save Our Wild Salmon and Patagonia

We're in Salt Lake City for the week for Outdoor Retailer. A lot of what we would wouldn't be possible without the support of outdoor industry brands, so it's good to come down, hand off some salmon jerky and give a big "thank you" for all of the ongoing support that makes this campaign possible.

But we also like to simply celebrate these fish, and that's where throwing a party comes into the mix. One of our key partners, Patagonia, offered to help us throw a celebratory event to feature the recent work of our partnership with the International League of Conservation Photographers and the beautiful photos from the Sawtooth Valley, as well as a film trailer from Epicocity Project.

This party is all about celebrating the power of these fish, so if you're in Salt Lake City, swing on by and come raise a glass for salmon!

WHAT: Snake River salmon swim more than 900 miles inland and climb almost 7,000 feet to reach their spawning grounds — the highest salmon spawning habitat on the planet, and the largest and wildest habitat left in the continental United States. These one of a kind salmon travel farther and higher than any other salmon on Earth — not to mention tackling eight massive dams along the way. Come celebrate these amazing fish and catch a glimpse of their epic migration first hand with a film trailer from the Epicocity Project and an amazing photo exhibit from the International League of Conservation Photographers. The filmmakers, photographers and Save Our Wild Salmon crew will be on hand to answer questions and help you take action to protect these one of a kind fish. FREE beer and smoked salmon!

WHERE: Patagonia Booth # 13027

WHEN: Thursday August 5 from 4-6pm