Middle Nemah Restoration Phase 2 Design

The Middle Nemah Restoration Design Phase 2 project completed design of large wood additions in the upper mainstem of the Middle Nemah River. The road abandonment restoration opportunities and culvert removal were dropped after field review with the sponsor, design firm and DNR staff having determined that these actions would not improve floodplain function significantly; certainly not enough to justify reopening the road system which had been decommissioned well over a decade ago. This also suggested that large wood placements via helicopter would be preferred to avoid reopening the same road system for equipment based wood placements. Wood placements were designed throughout the upper mainstem reaches through a conceptual design process, site visits with stakeholders and development and refinement of the preliminary designs.

PCSRF 2016 funds were spent within the award period.

The project will produce preliminary designs to increase the quantity and quality of instream and floodplain habitats (i.e., off-channel and over-wintering habitats) by outlining details for large wood placement and road removal actions in the upper Middle Nemah between River for juvenile Coho, Chinook, Chum and Steelhead in the Middle Nemah River.