Whychus creek restoration

Without significant stream channel restoration, Whychus Creek will not reach its full potential for spawning fish that return to the area as passage is provided at the Pelton Round Butte Dams. The overall goal of the project is to restore six miles of Whychus Creek, 3.

The project will restore the key functions and values of the historic wet meadows and associated in-stream and riparian habitats. Our goal in restoring the creek through these valuable stretches is to help return the creek to a healthy, biologically diverse condition.

Given the size and scale of the restoration, work will occur in phases over many years. The first phase started in and focused on approximately 1. Learn more about those efforts and see how it is growing and changing. The second phase began in and focused on the southernmost portion of the creek that runs through Rimrock Ranch. Much of the work was similar to the restoration project at Whychus Canyon Preserve. Construction crews were on site for several weeks to remove berms that were holding the stream in its straight alignment; they carved out soil in some areas and filled it in in others.

In the process, they will left islands of mature vegetation to help provide mixed topography and maintain the healthy cottonwood, willow, and dogwood that were currently growing. Salvaged whole trees were added throughout the restoration area to slow the flow of water, reduce erosion as the plants grow in, and create complex habitat for fish and wildlife learn more about the importance of wood in streams. Finally, after the construction was complete, the water in Whychus Creek was slowly returned to move freely across the historic floodplain.

See updates from the project! The project will eliminate water loss, reduce the districts maintenance and operating costs, and allow the district to transfer some of its long-held water rights. Some of these rights are to be transferred to the DRC to supplement instream flow.

The project is slated for completion in spring The irrigation district project will also address the issue of reduced fish passage, a common challenge for upper Deschutes Basin streams.

The Three Sisters irrigation channel has a small dam that prevents downstream fish from moving above it, and no screens to prevent fish upstream of the canal from entering it and becoming trapped.

Mathias Perle, a project manager for the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, noted that 5, fish were recovered from the canal at the end of the irrigation season. As part of the piping project, the irrigation district will screen their diversion intake and build a ramp-like structure to allow fish to move over the dam.

The U. Forest Service, which owns the land on which the dam sits, will also undertake a stream restoration project to improve habitat functions. The agencys goals include reducing streambed erosion, increasing the amount of vegetation along the channel, and improving the quality and number of fish habitats. As Perle describes it, "The collaboration between groups, not only the project partners but also the regulating agencies, is challenging, but it is also the best part of the project.

Everybody has been on board. Because of the degree to which some streams in the Deschutes Basin have been changed, many channels do not provide adequate conditions for fish even if they are unblocked. In much of the upper watershed, factors such as channelization and erosion have degraded habitat conditions. Migratory fish require a surprisingly high diversity of habitats for their numerous life stages, including gravel-bottom riffles, calm backwaters, side channels, and deep pools with cover and sunken debris to hide in.

Because of the complex habitat requirements of the Deschutes River fish population, Houston estimates that about half the funds spent on improvements in the upper Deschutes will be spent on habitat restoration and enhancement projects. On Whychus Creek, local groups are undertaking several restoration projects to return some of this necessary habitat diversity. The plans goal is to return the Whychus Creek to the meandering course it took before the U.