Mystery & War Creeks Reach Wood Restoration

The Project was implemented as designed. A CH-107 Boeing Vertol was contracted through Columbia Helicopters Inc. to install large wood structures throughout 3.1 miles of stream channel. This effort included the installation of 24 helicopter constructed large wood structures in the Mystery Reach Project Area and 11 helicopter constructed large wood structures in the War Creek Reach. Additionally, we installed 7 excavator constructed large wood structures within the full project area, totaling 984 pieces of large wood with rootwads added to the Twisp River and 63 slash bundles incorporated into the 48 total log structures. All log structures were constructed under the supervision of the designing engineers and fit the performance criteria set forth in the engineer’s design report. This was a very efficient method for constructing this large scale habitat restoration project with robust riparian vegetation and difficult access.

GOALS: 1. The goal of the
proposed project is to enhance
adult spawning and juvenile
rearing habitat for ESA-listed
endangered Upper Columbia
spring Chinook Salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and
threatened summer steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss).
2. Construct large wood structures
to increase channel roughness
and hydraulic complexity to
restore peripheral and transitional
habitat necessary for rearing
spring Chinook and steelhead in
the Twisp River.
3. Emulate and restart
geomorphological processes
driving wood and gravel
recruitment and retention to
improve spawning and rearing
conditions for spring Chinook and
steelhead in the Twisp River.