Vincent to Vinegar Fish Habitat Improvement

Host to both mid-Columbia spring Chinook and ESA-listed summer steelhead, the Middle Fork John Day River is considered critical habitat for juvenile and adult anadromous salmonids. Land use practices there have led to widespread loss of riparian and floodplain vegetation, and natural regeneration of plants has proven difficult due to the high levels of browse by wild ungulates. Collectively, this has resulted in rising water temperatures in the Middle Fork that verge on the upper thermal tolerances of Chinook and steelhead, and these poor water quality conditions will only be exacerbated with climate change.



The primary limiting factors for Chinook and steelhead in the Middle Fork John Day River are degraded water quality and degraded channel/riparian conditions. High water temperature is a widespread concern throughout the John Day River basin, especially in the main stem of the Middle Fork. Situated in a valley bottom, this project reach was historically relocated resulting in an immediate loss of riparian vegetation and sinuosity. The lack of sinuosity coupled with the presence of a railroad grade has almost entirely disconnected the river from its floodplain. When groundwater is unable to sufficiently recharge, this leads to reduced cold-water inputs, which are immensely important to fish in hot summer months. Additionally, the lack of shading riparian vegetation present along this reach leaves the river exposed to high solar inputs, causing water temperatures to rise. The historic river relocation also resulted in a reduced fish habitat complexity. Currently, this project reach is characterized as being relatively straight with few meanders and little variation in habitat.



The Vinegar to Vincent Fish Habitat Improvement project was born out of the need to address these primary limiting factors and legacy effects. Funding from concurrent sources (outside of this project) performed instream work (removal of the railroad grade and excavation/reactivation of historic main and side channels, installation of large wood structures for cover and shade).



The scope of this award was refined in Spring 2023 to include two Tribally-owned conservation properties on the Middle Fork John Day River, specifically the Oxbow Conservation Area (MFOCA) and the Middle Fork Forrest Conservation Area (MFFCA). Both of these properties have received restoration treatment. The restoration objectives at these properties align with the Tribes’ broader goals for the MFJD – namely, improved riparian condition and a reduction in thermal load. Planting efforts through this project were distributed throughout these Tribal MFJD conservation properties to compliment completed in-stream restoration. Work completed under this award include riparian planting on the MFOCA and the MFFCA. Planting was completed in the Summer/Fall of 2023. In 2023, 13,071 plants were planted on the MFOCA and 19,206 plants were installed on the MFFCA using combined funding from the PCSRF, BPA, and OWEB.



The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will monitor these restoration features throughout the coming years to ensure that all project objectives are met and limiting factors sufficiently addressed. Specifically, CTWS has and will continue to conduct fish, vegetation, and habitat surveys pre- and post-project. A series of well monitoring stations are also present within this project area and will allow us to identify changes in groundwater levels.

With the current state of salmon and steelhead in the John Day River and the broader mid-Columbia River basin, restoration projects of this scale are increasingly necessary to preserve these populations of fish. Federal, non-profit, and state agencies across the basin have and continue to allocate time and resources to restoring the Middle Fork John Day. Much of this work has focused on the tributaries, which are highly important, especially for adult steelhead and rearing of all salmonid species. Yet, our data show that juveniles also spend much of their time in the main stem of the Middle Fork, highlighting the importance of its restoration. This work is vital in order to improve fish habitat and water quality within the watershed and will prove to be even more crucial in the face of a changing climate.