Panther Creek Habitat 2023

The primary mission of SRHE is to enhance and restore salmon bearing streams that have been degraded by past and current land-use practices, with a goal to increase salmon productivity and survivorship, and lead to increased harvest opportunities for Tribal fishers. SRHE’s mission objective was met for the Mid Panther Meadows project by focusing on the promotion of “processes” that are associated with high quality habitat through the strategic placement of instream structures. It is these structures in combination with the force of moving water that ultimately determines the final outcome. This approach provided us the ability to treat a much greater area then would be realized (or afforded) under a conventional engineering approach.

The habitat site is located within a partially confined valley, which can allow for lateral movement of the stream and promote floodplain inundation. The parcel still contains many of the historic channels and braiding that when reengaged, will provide important back-channel habitat, and pools for parr development. Structures placed at specific locations will encourage pool formation and floodplain inundation with the goal of encouraging maximum soil saturation during the spring freshet, lowering the peak and widening the duration of the winter runoff. The slow release and migration of water from the floodplain into the adjacent channel has the potential to mitigate high Mean August Stream Temperatures that returning adults experience, with temperature stabilized groundwater.