Upper Luckiamute Mainstem Anchor Habitat Enhancement Project

The placement of logs and rootwads in the river will improve the habitat for native fish and other aquatic life.

A unique population of hybridized Nelson’s-meadow checkermallow (Sildacea campestris x nelsoniana) was discovered during the wetland survey at the project site

LWC Assistant Project Manager Aubrey Cloud collecting seeds from native plants growing near the project site. These seeds were spread in areas that were disturbed by heavy equipment activity during log placement.

On June 11, 2020, the  Oregon  Watershed  Enhancement Board (OWEB) released the funding for the Upper Luckiamute Restoration Project! Officially titled, “Protecting the Best: Upper Luckiamute Mainstem Anchor Habitat Enhancement,” this project is focused on restoring and enhancing the aquatic and riparian habitat along the uppermost reaches of the Luckiamute River with in-stream log placements, invasive plant removal, and understory plantings.  Identified by NetMap watershed analysis and mapping software as an “anchor habitat” for native salmonid fish - particularly steelhead trout, this area is located within remote timberlands owned by Manulife (Hancock Timber Resources) and Starker Forests, Inc. NetMap indicated that this site has some of the greatest potential in the watershed to be restored back to health and to once again provide high quality spawning and rearing habitat for the native fisheries that flourished here in the past. As with many of our projects, our goals are being accomplished with the help of many partners:

• Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is providing contracted  Project  Management  services
• Bureau  of Land  Management (BLM)  has donated logs that were placed in the stream channel
• Manulife (formerly Hancock Timber Resources Group) also donated logs for in-stream placement
• Xerces Society has conducted freshwater mussel surveys
• Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) assisted with wetland surveys
• Trout Unlimited (TU) contributed $1,000 directly to this project and TU volunteers are helping with steelhead spawning surveys
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) provided support during steelhead spawning surveys
• Trask Consulting designed the in-stream project elements
• Trask Design and Construction constructed the in-stream log structures
• D. Franco Contracting, Inc. crews have thinned conifer stands and are conducting all invasive species treatments, as well as the planting and stewarding about 14 acres with native vegetation.

A unique part of this project is an inventory and restoration assessment of an eight-acre wetland that lies between a timber access road and the riparian corridor along the Luckiamute River. Within this site is a unique population of what IAE identified as a hybridized Nelson’s-meadow checkermallow (Sildacea  campestris x nelsoniana),  which  has  never  been documented before in the wild.  Working together with IAE Restoration Ecologist Andy Neill, Project Manager Jean-Paul Zagarola  completed a “sensitive area” survey in June 2020 to look at ways that impacts to this wetland area could be minimized during the log harvest and placement phase of the project.

Harvest and placement of the logs into the river took place during summer 2021, along with strategic conifer thinning to encourage the growth of larger diameter trees within the riparian area. Following log placement, volunteers gathered seeds from nearby native species and spread them in the project area to help remediate some of the impacts from the heavy equipment activity. ​ In March 2022, crews from D. Franco Contracting, Inc. planted native trees and shrubs in the areas disturbed by equipment during large wood placement. At the same time, crewmembers planted 775 conifers along the riparian corridor to begin establishing the trees that will provide the large wood of the future.​

Key Project Goals:

Install 144 logs in 24 large wood structures over 1.6 miles of the upper Luckiamute mainstem.
Progress so far (as of March 2022): Steady progress has been made towards completing this objective. In spring and early summer 2021, large BLM logs were harvested and hauled by Trask Design and Construction from BLM lands near the project site and were staged along the project reach. The remaining trees needed for large wood structures were harvested from Manulife properties adjacent to the project site. These logs were harvested with rootwads attached, which increases their value in the in-stream structures. The LWC was approved for an extension to the in-water work season to start work earlier than usual. This extension allowed contractors to get ahead of fire season shutdowns and was permitted because no recent spawning activity had occurred at the site. Trask Design and Construction installed all 24 structures by early July. 

Provide a source of future in-stream large wood and enhance riparian structure and forest dynamics.

• Where appropriate, inter-plant 750 bare root conifers in about 13.4 acres in a 100-foot buffer throughout the 1.6-mile project reach
• Thin overstocked Douglas firs in about 1.5 acres along 0.4 miles and enhance the understory;
• Seed and replant disturbed locations in the riparian corridor in approximately two acres.

Progress so far (as of March 2022): The dense stand of Douglas firs on site were thinned in July 2020 to approximately 30 ft. on center. This thinning opens up the stand to encourage healthy development of conifers and a diverse understory. Where practical and feasible, material from the thinning was incorporated into the large wood structures. Crews from D. Franco Contracting, Inc. planted conifers and disturbance areas early in 2022. 

Survey and develop management recommendations to protect and enhance 8 acres of open wet prairie wetland habitat.
Progress so far (as of March 2022): The LWC contracted with the Institute of Applied Ecology to survey the 8-acre wet meadow and develop management recommendations. They conducted an initial survey in 2020 to identify sensitive areas equipment should avoid during large wood placement. They conducted monthly surveys in spring and summer 2021 and provided a report of plant inventory results, maps and management recommendations at the end of 2021. After review and discussion with partners, the LWC will work to secure funding to implement priority management strategies.

Surveying and Monitoring
Progress so far (as of March 2022):

• The LWC project manager worked with the Xerces Society to complete a mussels survey of the full 1.6 mile reach in July 2020. No mussels were found.
• Trout Unlimited with support from ODFW conducted salmonid redd surveys through spring of 2021 (before installation of large wood structures) and early 2022.
• Stream cross-sections were established by the Project Manager and LWC staff above at least three structures in fall 2021 to collect bed elevation baseline data. Data will then be collected at years 1, 3 and 5 post-implementation to measure changes in bed elevation as a result of restoration actions.
• The Project Manager and LWC staff are developing protocols to assess conifer planting survival.
• Through support from Manulife, the LWC continues temperature monitoring at three locations in the reach, above the project reach, near the middle of the reach, and below the reach, in the Luckiamute River, just above the confluence with Boulder Creek. ​