Luckiamute State Natural Area (LSNA) Floodplain Reconnection Project
In the slideshow below, you can see how the Luckiamute State Natural Area's (LSNA's) North Tract has changed over the years, from well before we first started our restoration planting in Fall 2010, all the way through June 2018.
The LWC, in partnership with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), has been working with River Design Group, Inc. (RDG) to provide technical assistance for floodplain enhancement projects at the Luckiamute State Natural Area (LSNA). The goal is to find opportunities to allow the Luckiamute River to be better connected with its surrounding floodplain. Click on the links below to download RDG documents.
Several funding entities have provided support to make this work possible. Thank you to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's (OWEB) Special Investment Partnership, Meyer Memorial Trust's Willamette River Initiative and to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for their support of this and other projects at LSNA.
Several funding entities have provided support to make this work possible. Thank you to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's (OWEB) Special Investment Partnership, Meyer Memorial Trust's Willamette River Initiative and to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for their support of this and other projects at LSNA.
2013 LSNA Hydrologic Analysis Technical Memo - this document was completed in 2013 and provides the original RDG hydrologic analysis and a list of eleven sites for further investigation for restoration opportunities at LSNA, dubbed Site Investigation Areas or SIAs. The LWC and volunteers collected inundation data (water surface elevation) at LSNA with staff plates and site observations to help inform this analysis.
2013 LSNA Hydrologic Analysis - Final Site Map - the map found on page 16 of the 2013 memo, showing the eleven Site Investigation Areas (SIAs) recommended by RDG for potential project locations. There are 8 sites in the North Tract and 3 sites in the South Tract.
2017 LSNA Floodplain Reconnection Alternatives Memo with Update - this document expands on the 2013 hydrologic analysis, honing in on two of the recommended sites identified in 2013 - SIAs 7 and 8. This analysis collected additional data, examined the Luckiamute Suver gage and the Albany and Salem gages on the Willamette River to better understand the dynamics at LSNA. Based on the enhanced analysis, RDG initially identified three project alternatives for SIA 7 (7a, 7b, and 7c) and four alternatives for SIA 8 (8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d), all of which are discussed in detail in the memo. Alternatives examine the trade-offs of increasing project size, disturbance, and cost with increased habitat benefit.
LWC and OPRD requested additional alternatives be developed for SIA 7. RDG provided draft designs for 7d and 7e as part of an Update. The entire collection of draft designs - 5 options for SIA 7 (a-e) and four options for SIA 8 (a-d) are attached at the end of the original memo as part of an Update provided by RDG. Note that alternatives 7d and 7e are not mentioned in the narrative portion of the memo because they are in response to an additional request by the LWC and OPRD.
The 2015 grant proposal that requested Technical Assistance funds to support this work is found here.
LWC and OPRD requested additional alternatives be developed for SIA 7. RDG provided draft designs for 7d and 7e as part of an Update. The entire collection of draft designs - 5 options for SIA 7 (a-e) and four options for SIA 8 (a-d) are attached at the end of the original memo as part of an Update provided by RDG. Note that alternatives 7d and 7e are not mentioned in the narrative portion of the memo because they are in response to an additional request by the LWC and OPRD.
The 2015 grant proposal that requested Technical Assistance funds to support this work is found here.
2017 LSNA Additional Opportunities Memo - a second memo provided by RDG that outlines additional opportunities for restoration and floodplain reconnection at LSNA. This memo was recommended by the Technical Review Team (TRT) that reviewed the LWC's 2015 grant proposal seeking funding to conduct the Floodplain Reconnection Alternatives analysis. When recommending funding for the analysis, the TRT also recommend the LWC and OPRD take another look at LSNA to ensure valuable restoration opportunities are not being missed by focusing on SIAs 7 and 8. The memo provides SIA for further examination.
2018 Proposal for implementation, submitted to the funding partners Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT), and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). This proposal was funded. LWC and partners are working through the permitting process and will implement the project starting summer 2020.
Aerial photos of potential LSNA floodplain reconnection sites. Photos by River Design Group, Inc., taken on February 22, 2017.
The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in part by the Bonneville Power Administration under Award Number 82741. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.