Little Sweden Conservation Area Habitat Enhancement

The goal of the project is to restore ecosystem processes in uplands of the 183-acre Little Sweden Conservation Area (the Property) that was burned during the 2020 Beachie Creek wildfire. The Property is owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSRO). The Property is under a conservation easement funded and held by BPA, whose purpose is to preserve in perpetuity the Conservation Values of the Property. The Conservation Easement acknowledges that Conservation Values may periodically fluctuate or trend toward long-term change, due to natural events such as wildfire, floods, insect or disease, interdecadal climate events, and long-term climate change, as well as human-initiated enhancement or restoration actions. The Property is directly adjacent to but not included in the North Santiam River Conservation Opportunity Area and within the Western Cascades Ecoregion (OCS 2016). It is almost entirely surrounded by public lands including Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) lands and U.S. Forest Service lands.



The fire burned nearly the entire 183-acre property with only 15-acres of canopy trees surviving at the northeast corner of the Property. The restoration effort includes planting new trees on 44-acres of uplands which were prioritized due to slope gradient of 2:1 or less to increase the likelihood of successful plant establishment . This tree planting will require several steps as follows: 1) creation of a planting plan with the help of a consultant; 2) site preparation; 3) ordering native plants; 4) contracting planting and mulching activities; and 5) contracting three years of plant establishment activities. Property-wide (183-acres) restoration will include implementing conservation practices that include weed management, and clean-up efforts to remove excessive dead trees (fuel reduction) while leaving some of the dead trees for wildlife habitat benefit. Funding from two sources will be combined to restore upland habitats at the Little Sweden Conservation Area as follows: 1) this PCSRF Grant for $100,930; 2) 2020 Post-Fire Recovery Upland and Riparian Replanting OWEB Grant for $199,472. This property is well known to the CTWSRO, and members of the CTWSRO have historically fished in this section of the North Santiam. Restoration actions will improve habitats for culturally significant plant and animal species and allow tribal members to reclaim access to the site to be used for fishing, hunting, hiking, bird watching, etc. This ultimately helps preserve the culture and heritage of the Tribal members.



Worksite #1 Proposed Work:



The majority of the Property has very steep slopes. After conducting a slope analysis, 44 acres with a slope gradient of 2:1 or less, were chosen for replanting. We did not include areas with a slope gradient greater than 2:1 to reduce safety risk and to increase the likelihood of successful plant establishment. Proposed work includes site prep, planting native trees (at 360 stems/acre) and shrubs, native vegetation establishment, and plant stewardship during the grant term. Plant stewardship is proposed to continue through 2028, as it is a recognized best management practice, to assure vegetation recovery reaches free-to-grow, thriving status, outcompeting invasives.

The expected benefits of this project to Target Salmon Species will be the amelioration of negative water quality impairments (temperature) and contaminants from burned debris by protecting surface and groundwater systems on this property which will ultimately improve anadromous fish habitat in the adjacent stretch of the North Santiam River.



Little Sweden is located in a source water area and contributes to the North Santiam River, which is habitat for Federally fish species. About one mile of the North Santiam River borders the southern portion of the Little Sweden Conservation Area, and there are three named streams in the uplands that flow into the North Santiam River: Little Washout Creek, Big Washout Creek, and Lodore Creek. The mainstem North Santiam River is considered critical habitat for populations of Federally listed Upper Willamette River (UWR) spring Chinook and UWR winter steelhead, mountain whitefish, cutthroat trout and Pacific lamprey, with the latter two federally listed as “species of concern”. As stated previously, the proposed project area, which includes streams that feed into the mainstem. The ETART fish and wildlife specialist section noted that the river systems are at “Very High Risk” for the threatened and endangered fisheries from water quality impairments (temperature) and contaminants from burned debris. Experts recommended: “Work with partners to encourage natural regeneration and/or reforestation with mixed hardwood conifer”.