Oregon
Water Enhancement Board Funds
22
Projects Supporting Coastal Coho
March 21, 2006
Portland, Oregon -
Oregon's commitment to recovery of coastal coho salmon was boosted Thursday
through votes of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to fund 22 projects in
coastal rivers and streams in the amount of $2 million.
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Fisheries announced in mid-January that Oregon coast
coho populations from Seaside to Cape Blanco do not warrant listing under the
federal Endangered Species Act. Key factors in avoiding a listing have been
actions within the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. The plan, established
in 1997, guides the work of a wide spectrum of landowners, agencies and
organizations dedicated to improving watershed health and salmon populations.
OWEB has contributed to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watershed goals and coho
recovery by funding restoration, monitoring and education projects, supporting
local coastal watershed councils and providing staff technical support in all
facets of the plan.
Watershed councils, supported primarily by OWEB funding, have been established
statewide, with several operating in the north and central coastal regions.
Watershed councils are locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory groups
established to improve the condition of watersheds in their local area. The
councils will continue to work with soil and water conservation districts,
private landowners and state and federal agencies in the coastal coho study
area. A thorough conservation and recovery plan for coastal coho, based on the
findings of the assessment, will be developed by late 2006.
Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds support through Oregon Lottery funding is
provided by Oregon law until at least mid-2014.
Since creation of the salmon license plate in 1997, plate sales have generated
more than $2 million to pay for road-related projects that improve salmon
habitat. Some of the plate-funded projects are located in north and south coast
waters.
For information about salmon restoration projects and guidance for purchasing a
salmon plate, visit www.oregon.gov/OWEB
or call OWEB in Salem at 503-986-0178.
Projects approved for funding include:
NORTH COAST
For north coast project
information: Tom Shafer, OWEB program representative, 541-528-7451
BENTON COUNTY
- Lobster Creek
Watershed Basin Fish Passage Improvement:
Applicant is Benton County Public Works. Funds granted: $85,400 of total
project cost $188,400. Lobster Creek is a tributary of 5 Rivers¿the Alsea's
largest tributary.
COLUMBIA COUNTY
- Elk Creek Salmon
Passage and Stream Bank Improvement:
Applicant is Upper Nehalem Watershed Council. Funds granted: $112,800 of total
project cost $215,200. Elk Creek is tributary of the East. Fork of the Nehalem
River.
LANE COUNTY
- Elk Creek Culvert
Replacement:
Applicant is Siuslaw Watershed Council. Funds granted: $46,300 of total
project cost of $94,800. Elk Creek is in the Indian Creek sub-basin of the
Siuslaw River watershed.
- Upper Wildcat Creek
Stream Improvement:
Applicant is Siuslaw Watershed Council. Funds granted: $47,900 of total
project cost $75,600. Wildcat Creek is a major tributary of the Siuslaw River,
entering at River Mile 50.
LINCOLN COUNTY
- Young Creek Fish
Passage Improvement:
Applicant is Mid-coast Watershed Council. Funds granted: $26,100 of total
project cost $48,700. Young Creek joins the Yaquina River near Nashville.
- Rock Creek Habitat
Improvement Project:
Applicant is Mid-Coast Watershed Council. Funds granted: $94,300 of total
project cost $150,800. Rock Creek is a sub-basin of the Devil's Lake
watershed.
TILLAMOOK COUNTY
- Coal Creek Dam Removal
and Stream Improvement:
Applicant is Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. Funds granted: $54,300 of total
project cost $155,100. Coal Creek is a sub-basin of the Kilchis River.
- Agricultural and
Residential Planting Program:
Applicant is Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. Funds granted: $31,000 of total
project cost $58,300. The project covers the county's five estuaries and their
watersheds.
- Elliott Creek Fish
Habitat Improvement:
Applicant is Tillamook Bay Watershed Council. Funds granted: $49,500 of total
project cost $78,000. Elliott Creek is a tributary of the Devil's Lake Fork of
the Wilson River.
- Alder Creek Farm
Restoration:
Applicant is Lower Nehalem Community Trust. Funds granted: $23,100 of total
project cost $31,100. Alder Creek is a small tributary located on the north
side of the Nehalem River estuary between the communities of Nehalem and
Manzanita.
SOUTH COAST
For south coast project
information: Mark Grenbemer, OWEB program representative, 541-776-6010 ext.
231
Coos County
- Tenmile Lakes
Fencing and Sediment Reduction:
Applicant is Tenmile Lakes Basin Partnership. Funds granted: $257,800 of
total project cost $357,400.
- Tenmile Lakes Fish
Passage and Sediment Reduction:
Applicant is Tenmile Lakes Basin Partnership. Funds granted: $320,100 of
total project cost $506,100.
- Lowe Creek Channel
and Wetlands Restoration:
Applicant is Oregon Trout. Funds granted: $150,000 of total project cost
$306,400. Lowe Creek is a tributary of the Coquille River.
- Elk Creek Wood
Placement:
Applicant is the Coos Watershed Association. Funds granted: $72,400 of total
project cost $152,500. Elk Creek is within the Elliott State Forest.
- Coquille Instream
Habitat Improvement:
Applicant is Coquille Watershed Association. Funds granted: $56,700 of total
project cost $79,000. The project involves one mile of habitat in Hall Creek
and one-half mile of the North Fork of the Coquille.
- Coquille Watershed
Stream Bank Improvement:
Applicant is Coquille Watershed Association. Funds granted $153,800 of total
project cost $257,300. The project involves seven miles of stream bank area
on numerous streams within the watershed.
- Snyder Wetlands:
Applicant is Coquille Watershed Association. Funds granted: $35,700 of total
project cost $56,400. Snyder Wetlands is located adjacent to the main stem
of the Coquille River at River Mile 10.
Douglas County
- Galetti Wetland
Restoration:
Applicant is Douglas Soil and Water Conservation District. Funds granted:
$42,700 of total project cost $107,900. The project is located on Yoncalla
Creek near Yoncalla.
- Dawson Road Ranch
Stream Bank Restoration:
Applicant is Douglas Soil and Water Conservation District. Funds granted:
$33,200 of total project cost $118,400. The project involves 320 acres in the
Deer Creek drainage, a tributary to the South Umpqua River.
- North Myrtle Stream
Bank Restoration:
Applicant is Douglas Soil and Water Conservation District. Funds granted:
$60,200 of total project cost $104,500. The project involves 1.2 miles along
North Myrtle Creek.
- Dodge Canyon/Thompson
Creek Supplement:
Applicant is Elk Creek Watershed Council. Funds granted: $82,100 of total
project cost $172,800. The projects involve two tributaries of Elk Creek in
the Umpqua Basin.
- Umpqua Fish Passage:
Applicant is the Umpqua Basin Watershed Council. Funds granted: $195,600 of
total project cost $294,200. The project replaces seven culverts on numerous
creeks within the Umpqua Basin.
The Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board is a state agency led by a policy oversight board. The agency
provides grants and services to citizen groups, organizations and agencies
working to restore healthy watersheds in Oregon. Funding comes from the Oregon
Lottery as a result of a citizen initiative in 1998, sales of salmon license
plates, federal salmon funds and other sources.
For North Coast project information: Tom Shafer, OWEB program
representative, 541-528-7451
For South Coast project information: Mark Grenbemer, OWEB program
representative, 541-776-6010 ext. 231