Lower Elk, Coon, Mud and Pigpen Creeks Large Wood and Bridge Enhancement

The project site is in the Nicolai-Wikiup watershed on land owned and managed by Hampton Lumber, upstream of the Big Creek Fish Hatchery and the town of Knappa, 15 miles east of Astoria. The project is on Elk Creek, Coon Creek, Mud Creek, and Pigpen Creek, all 6th field tributaries to Big Creek. Industrial logging practices in the watershed have left the channels of both streams largely devoid of structural complexity. The location of the project site, upstream from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) fish hatchery, is identified as a priority stream for threatened salmonid species since it is the only stream reach in the watershed that is not accessible to hatchery fish and, therefore, is considered a high-intrinsic-potential stream reach. This project proposes to install large wood in each creek. The current undersized concrete bridge will be reconstructed to allow large wood to accumulate above and below the bridge to capture transient bed load. At the end of the Elk Creek reach an alder release will occur within the riparian area for additional wood material and plant diversity enhancement. The project has been identified by the NCWA, ODFW and Hampton Lumber as a restoration priority. Adding large wood is a high priority for these reaches and will take advantage of the opportunity to build on the structural complexity and partnership success of the Upper Big Creek Floodplain Restoration Project. Also, stream function will increase by connecting this effort to a previous large wood project completed by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) just upstream of the recently completed Upper Big Creek Floodplain Restoration Project. Project partners include Hampton Lumber, ODFW and the NCWA.

This project will improve stream habitat conditions by installing large wood, which will improve channel conditions through pool formation, capture and sort sediment, provide nutrient sources for aquatic insects, and raise the water-surface elevation. Additionally, the replacement of the Pigpen Creek bridge will allow for the passage of large wood through the system without compromising Big Creek Mainline road and Hamptons logging operations.

These features will provide better spawning and rearing habitat for native salmonids. Additionally, species downstream will benefit from decreased sedimentation. A lower reach of Big Creek with a struggling population of chum salmon that we are currently working with partners to restore has altered hydrology with increased sedimentation. Any project completed upstream of the distribution of chum salmon in Big Creek that addresses the above factors would have a positive impact on chum spawning downstream. ODFWs Chum Reintroduction Coordinator has identified upstream effects (like those addressed in this project) as an important element for chum recovery.