Elk Creek River Mile (RM) 4.7 Ecological Restoration

The project at Elk Creek River Mile (RM) 4.7 is Phase 4 of multi-year actions throughout the sub-basin. With a drainage area of 134 square miles, Elk Creek joins the Rogue River 3 miles upstream of Trail. Elk Creek has degraded water quality, stream processes, and aquatic and terrestrial habitats that negatively affect ecosystems. Riparian forests are reduced, grazed, and infiltrated with noxious weeds. Unimpeded livestock access to the creek increases sedimentation and nutrient inputs. Simplified channels and large wood removal eliminate channel complexity, aquatic habitat, and floodplain interactions. Excessive winter runoff from land-use and irrigation practices during the growing season decrease water quantity availability during the summer. These cumulative impacts also elevate summer water temperatures, threatening cold water fish populations. Rogue River Watershed Council (RRWC) proposes a combination of significant ecological restoration actions by enhancing the mainstem, three secondary channels, and a lower section of Tributary G. This will be accomplished by placing large wood instream and rehabilitating riparian forest to recover the native plant community, using noxious weed control, natural recruitment of native species, and riparian fencing. These actions will restore critical stream processes, improve water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat conditions. Public awareness is also an essential component to promote restoration efforts and generate public interest through media outlets and project tours. The project area is identified in the Upper Rogue Coho Salmon Strategic Action Plan, developed with partners to address limiting factors and stressors. This project is supported by the US Army Corps of Engineers and Upper Rogue Oak Initiative with input from US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management staff.
Because this projects end date is outside of the close of the FFY 2023 PCSRF award period, no state funds will be used as match to PCSRF.

The project adds to ecological restoration actions that were implemented by RRWC starting in 2020 (Phase 1). By placing large wood in secondary channels and the tributary, critical winter rearing habitat, particularly for Coho Salmon, will be treated. Placing large wood at strategic locations in the mainstem will capture bedload to bury bedrock, increase hyporheic flow, create complex hydraulics during high flow, sort gravels, and increase the duration and frequency of winter flow in the secondary channels. These conditions are important for spawning adults and provide cover for all life stages of salmonids. Riparian rehabilitation of will improve overhead cover of channels while supplying native allochthonous inputs and help lower water temperature to the entire project area. This will provide food resources for the aquatic invertebrate populations, which are important for maintaining high water quality and prey for juvenile fish.