Swartz Creek Aquatic Organism Passage Enhancement

The Swartz Creek Aquatic Organism Passage Enhancement project is in the Triangle Lake/Lake Creek sixth-field HUC 171002060602, in the Swartz Creek sub-watershed. Swartz Creek flows from its headwaters through Federal forest and private timberland before entering a mix of rural residential and agricultural properties in its lower reach, near the confluence of Swartz Creek and upper Lake Creek. The Strategic Action Plan for Coho Salmon Recovery for the Siuslaw River lists longitudinal connectivity as a key ecological attribute (KEA) and states that “inadequate culverts in tributaries […] often restrict access for both adult and juvenile coho to prime spawning and rearing areas”. This project would support the Siuslaw Coho Partnership’s goal of “upgrading working lands infrastructure to improve water quality and increase habitat availability. This project will address a high priority crossing in the Triangle Lake/Lake Creek 6th field HUC on Swartz Creek at the Swartz Creek/High Pass Road road-stream crossing. The newly designed Aquatic Organism Passage will be designed to meet ARBO II standards and be sized at 1.5 ACW, as well as utilize stream simulation techniques described in the USFS Guide to Stream Simulation. Project Partners include the Siuslaw Watershed Council (SWC), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Lane County Public Works.

The project will benefit ESA listed Oregon Coast and Oregon Coast DPS Steelhead by improving passage at one undersized and failing road-stream crossing on High Pass road at 44.229207, -123.456003, at the intersection of Swartz Creek and High Pass road. The improved passage will allow adult and juvenile salmonids, as well as other aquatic organisms, unimpeded access to NOAA/NMFS defined anchor habitat that is currently highly restricted due to the perched and undersized nature of the crossing in its current state. Overall, the project will directly address a key Siuslaw Coho Partnership recovery strategy (Strategic Action Plan for Coho Salmon Recovery- The Siuslaw River) “Strategies to Conserve Critical Coho Habitat in the Siuslaw Watershed” Strategy 5 “Upgrade Infrastructure”. The proposed replacement stream crossing structure and channel will be designed to effectively transport sediment and mimic a natural stream setting.