Oregon Coast Coho Restoration Collaborative Projects in Tribes' Ancestral Territory - Upper Bell Creek

The specific work included excavating the unnatural floodplain deposits which were a result of unnatural processes such as logging and agriculture. Using that deposited material, the Tribes and its partners filled the incised and straightened channel, burying introduced weeds in the bottom. A simulated anastomosing channel network was excavated on the resulting floodplain, large woody debris was placed, and then the excavated channels were reactivated with surface flow of Bell Creek.



As a result, this highly productive coho stream is providing improved rearing conditions for juvenile coho salmon. Compared to nearby survey reaches by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, this stream is increasing the relative productivity and producing more juvenile salmon than it was before the project.

Species Benefited: Oregon Coast ESU Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch):ESA-listed as a Threatened Species (76 FR 35755). The project occurs in designated Critical Habitat (73 FR 7816) and Essential Fish Habitat designated under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (PFMC 1999). Oregon Coast ESU Steelhead (Onchorhynchus mykiss): NOAA Species of Concern (69 FR 19975). Managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act; Essential Fish Habitat not identified. Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentata): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species of Concern (69 FR 77158). This project is responsive to the Conservation Measures identified by the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative (Luzier et al. 2011). The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw are signatories on the Conservation Agreement for Pacific Lamprey.





Outcomes and Benefits:



The completion of this project will produce a number of benefits



• Restore natural anastamosing channel form and fill linear drainage ditches.



• Reconnect the Upper Bell and Fivemile Creeks to their historical floodplains. (Paid for using these funds by regrading 7.5 acres of disconnected floodplain)



• Remove invasive plant species and establish natural species.



• Place a large wood pieces in the new channel and on the floodplain.





The channel reconstruction seeks to address disrupted watershed functions resulting from historic and current land use practices, including timber harvest and agriculture. The Channel reconstruction proposed will improve aquatic habitat complexity, increase juvenile salmonid rearing habitat by re-connecting floodplains, and address stream bank erosion. The other habitat enhancements, such as the removal of invasive plant species and native re-vegetation (funded separately), will improve habitat complexity in the floodplain and the riparian areas, improving overall water quality and resiliency of the system.