Upper South Umpqua Habitat Restoration Project Phase IV

The project will help restore spawning and rearing opportunities for Spring Chinook, coho, and steelhead on the upper South Umpqua River near Tiller by placing spawning gravel and large root wad structures to hold the gravels.

PCSRF FFY 2017 funds will be expended on project costs incurred during the PCSRF FFY 2017 contract award period and PCSRF FFY 2019 funds will be used to complete the project.

The anticipated condition of the project reach upon completion will be a reach containing complex large wood and boulder structures which slow water velocity and accumulate spawning gravels; resulting in a significant increase in spring chinook, coho salmon and winter steelhead production per adult spawner. As the gravels and cobbles accumulate over time, the stream channel width will be reduced and the channel will begin to meander. Eventually the stream channel will be reconnected with the floodplain, with frequent inundation occurring. The condition of the project sites in ten years will primarily be a function of the size, frequency and duration of high flow events. It is anticipated that these sites will be fully functioning complex habitats with deep pool habitat, off channel and side channel habitat, large wood complexes, and gravel will be the dominate substrate. Long-term outcomes include an increase in the channel roughness which will reduce water velocity and promote the trapping, storage and sorting of substrate for increased spawning habitat; increased channel complexity to provide winter habitat during high flows; and a narrowing of channel width which will increase hyporheic flow, resulting in improved spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids.