Strategic Restoration Action Plan for the Abernethy Creek Watershed

The Strategic Restoration Action Plan for Native Fish in the Abernethy Creek Watershed (January, 2021) provides a prioritized list of restoration actions intended to support recovery of native fish species in the Lower Columbia River and Willamette River evolutionary significant units (ESU’s). The plan details a strategic framework for planning habitat restoration projects within the Abernethy Creek watershed, including tributary streams that provide habitat for native fish as well as non-fish bearing streams that contribute to water quality in lower reaches of the watershed. The plan contains detailed analyses and site selection for 24 projects and provides guidance and prioritization for the Greater Oregon City Watershed Council and project partners including members of the Clackamas Partnership Technical Advisory Committee (Technical Advisory Committee), Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, tribal partners and Metro. A restoration goal and strategy, limiting factors and threats, identification of focal native fish species, and geographic and project prioritizations define a general restoration strategy for the basin.

Salmon and steelhead as well as other native fish species will benefit from this work through identification of the highest priority projects to improve habitat conditions they rely on for production and survival. Despite having information on the condition of habitat and the relative abundance of fish, there is no means to strategically identify projects that should be implemented first and those that can follow in later years to ensure projects result in the greatest benefit to native fish. Projects implemented in the lower watershed may need to wait for actions to be implemented upstream in order to achieve the greatest uplift. Other projects may be critical for early implementation as they can make a significant difference in the trajectory of native fish both within and outside of the watershed.