Oxbow Tailings Restoration

There was $3,691.83 remaining when this projects contract ended and that balance will remain with NOAA Fisheries. This funding paid for riparian plants in Phase 1 (2011) and Phase 2 (2012), along with project management support. Funding also went towards fencing supplies to be constructed on Phase 3. This Oxbow Dredge Tailings Restoration project will significantly improve spawning and rearing habitat for summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon.We expect the Oxbow project to greatly benefit rearing and spawning habitat for spring Chinook salmon and Mid-Columbia summer steelhead. The Oxbow project is located in critical habitat zone for these species on the Middle Fork John Day River.

This project is located in the heart of spring Chinook salmon spawning, adult holding, and juvenile rearing. The property averages 13% of spring Chinook salmon spawning in the MFJD watershed. The property exhibits high juvenile rearing stemming from its location in the watershed and the six perennial tributaries entering the river within the property. The Project site will benefit connectivity to the river on three tributaries: Butte Creek, Granite Boulder Creek and Ruby Creek. All three creeks are use by steelhead for rearing and spawning, and Granite Boulder Creek is one of three documented streams in the watershed with a Bull Trout population.

This project seeks to greatly enhance instream habitat for salmonids in terms of holding cover and spawning gravel availability. The project seeks to reduce overall stream temperature through removal of a dredged channel bifurcation, which will reduce the solar exposure to the stream. Temperature will also be addressed through an extensive vegetation plan which promotes stream shade and appropriate channel widths on the constructed channel segments.