East Ohmer Creek Restoration

In 2022, this project restored 1 kilometer of East Ohmer and Lumpy creeks, reconnected 20-acres of floodplain, and maintained the stream inlet and outlet at Donahue Creek which fills the pond at nearby Man-Made Hole Picnic Area near Petersburg. By adding 120 pieces of large wood, building 12 instream structures, fish habitat in the creeks was improved. These structures created and maintained pools used by anadromous salmonids for cover, rearing locations, spawning at the pool ends, and thermal refugia. An additional 110 large pieces of large wood were placed to reconnected of floodplain surrounding the creeks. At Man-Made Hole Recreation Area work included replacement of old logs forming the stream banks near the installed footbridges and the addition of logs and rock material to improve water flow to the pond during low-flow conditions.

This project will restore self-sustaining natural ecosystem function and processes on approximately 1.0 km of salmon streams and approximately 8 ha of floodplain. Beneficial effects to fish habitat are expected through increased quantity and quality of pools, improved cover, improved bank stability, and maintenance of rearing habitat. Improved physical habitat will benefit rearing and resting salmonids during overwintering and migration by providing cover, improved forage efficiency, and thermal refugia during times of low water and high temperatures. Beneficial effects to the floodplain are expected through wood placements for flood resilience, conifer growth, and long-term beaver pond migration. Subsistence users will benefit through long-term sustained healthy fisheries resulting from the direct improvement of instream and floodplain habitat, and through maintenance of the inlet channel for maintaining water flow into the pond at Man-Made Hole Picnic Area.