Gods Valley Instream Enhancement Phase 1

This project is located in Tillamook County on Gods Valley Creek 4.6 miles from the confluence with the North Fork Nehalem River. The project reach includes the mainstem of Gods Valley Creek from RM 4.6 to RM 5.7 (1.1 miles), Roberson Creek (0.6 miles), and Gods Valley Creek Tributary E (0.5 miles) for a total of 2.3 miles. The entire project area is owned by Giustina Land and Timber Company, a private timber company.

This project proposes to place instream wood structures to increase instream complexity, floodplain interaction, and side channel development. A total of 41 structures will be installed: 19 in Gods Valley Creek, 10 in Roberson Creek, and 12 in Gods Valley Creek Tributary E. Structures size will vary based on the channel characteristics of each structure site ranging from 4 pieces up to 10 pieces with a dbh of 16 to 24. Structures will contain between two and four pieces with rootwads attached, again depending on the channel characteristics of the site.

This is a project of the Nehalem Basin Partnership and is prioritized in the Strategic Action Plan for the Protection and Restoration of Coho Salmon Habitat. Summer and winter rearing habitat are limiting factors for the Nehalem coho population. Reduced instream wood, which reduces instream complexity, in the Nehalem Watershed from stream cleaning and historical timber harvest practices drive these limiting factors in Gods Valley Creek. The lack of instream wood creates higher, flashier flows that make natural regeneration of instream wood less likely to establish, incises channels, and simplifies the system. Placing instream wood is an effective way to reverse this trend.

The project will be implemented by the Nehalem Bay Watershed Council, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Giustina Land and Timber Company. Additional support for the project will be provided by Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, the Wild Salmon Center, and the Oregon Department of Forestry.

According to ODFW, Gods Valley Creek supports Oregon Coast Chinook salmon, coho salmon, winter steelhead trout, and coast cutthroat trout. NOAA Fisheries lists instream habitat complexity as a primary limiting factor. Instream wood in Gods Valley Creek is less than ODFWs benchmarks. The lack of instream wood reduces the availability of summer and winter rearing habitats, spawning gravel, pools, and the frequency of floodplain engagement. This project will install 41 instream wood structures in 2.3 miles of Gods Valley Creek and its tributaries. These structures will provide the instream complexity to create summer and winter rearing habitats, increase the availability of spawning gravel and pools, and cause more frequent floodplain engagement. This project is the first phase of improving the habitat in Gods Valley Creek and targets the furthest upstream habitats. This work will increase the efficacy of future work phases by attenuating peak flows, improving the stability of structures that will be placed downstream in future phases of the project.