Luckiamute Watershed Council Capacity 25-27

The service area of the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC) comprises 369 square miles in southern Polk and northern Benton counties. Bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Willamette River, the service area contains the Luckiamute Watershed, the Ash Creek watershed, and areas draining directly to the Willamette River. This Operating Capacity grant will support the operations of the LWC to engage people and communities in its service area and fulfill its mission. The proposed work includes developing and implementing on-the-ground restoration projects focused on riparian, floodplain, and aquatic habitats; monitoring activities with a focus on stream temperature; restoration and organizational planning efforts including implementation of the LWCs strategic plan; community and stakeholder engagement; and governance and management of the organization, with activities outlined to continuously improve and increase effectiveness of the LWC. A wide array of partners support this work, including local, state, and federal entities, other nonprofits and community-based organizations, Western Oregon University, OSU Extension, other grant funders, and donors, volunteers, and landowners.

The Luckiamute watershed contains 706 miles of stream habitat for Upper Willamette River winter steelhead, coho, and cutthroat trout. Limiting factors include impaired access to habitat, degraded water quality (altered physical, chemical, or biological water characteristics), altered hydrology, altered quality of physical habitat, and knowledge gaps. The council’s 2010 Action Plan focuses largely on fish recovery actions. Throughout the next biennium, the council aims to expand its restoration work throughout the Ash Creek corridor to tackle temperature related stream pollution, restore and connect floodplain forest habitats in the Willamette confluence region, and continue the restoration of upper reach spawning grounds. This project will provide the council staff with the ability to plan, organize and support the development of this work, ultimately addressing these limiting factors for salmon and/or steelhead and their habitats. LWC staff will utilize watershed assessments, action plans and relevant Recovery Plans to prioritize future restoration and monitoring projects.