community
UNWC Completes Massive Restoration Project
ditions and juvenile salmon presence.
From these assessments, the UNWC
learned that the Pebble Creek water-
shed is an ideal system for native Coho
and Cutthroat Trout production. With
dition of large wood.
The UNWC continues to gather
data to help analyze the success of their
projects. Bio-Surveys, LLC conducted
the RBA surveys during the last three
the detailed maps based on Rapid Bio-
Assessment (RBA) surveys they can see
wherever there are natural large woody
debris accumulations, the number and
density of juvenile Coho present in-
creases immensely, compared to areas
without adequate wood. There are pool
densities of juvenile Coho in West Peb-
ble Creek - upstream of this year’s log
placement - which has an abundance of
legacy logs - that are higher than any-
where else in coastal watersheds where
these surveys have been conducted. So
the UNWC knows there is significant
potential to increase production of na-
tive Coho in Pebble Creek with the ad-
years in over 200 miles of Coho salmon
bearing streams in the Upper Nehalem
River Basin. The surveys are conduct-
ed by snorkeling pools in the river and
streams and counting juvenile salmon
that are present. The previous survey
results provide a baseline count and can
help tell whether the project work has
had a positive impact on juvenile salmon
presence.
Funding for the Pebble Creek
restoration project came from Oregon
Watershed Enhancement Board and from
the National Fish and Wildlife Foun-
dation through the Oregon Governor’s
Fund for the Environment. The Oregon
september19
2013
continued from page 12
Governor’s fund for the environment has
designated the Nehalem as a high prior-
ity for restoration fund investment. The
budget also included in-kind donations
of time and expertise from Weyerhaeus-
er and the Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife, bringing the total value of
the project to well over a quarter million
dollars.
Peyton remains concerned that
the efforts being made to recover native
salmon populations are not quite enough
especially in the face of continued popu-
lation growth, ever increasing demand
for natural resources and inevitable cli-
mate change. “Is what we’re doing to
reverse the 150 year decline of native
salmon populations enough?” asks Pey-
ton. “We’re experiencing global climate
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shifts, which may be temporary or may
be long term. We may be in the driver
seat or riding shotgun either way there is
no doubt that humanity is along for the
ride and we know it!.”
“You hope that we are not fight-
ing a losing battle and that it is a battle
worth fighting,” says Peyton. “The
salmon are very resilient, but there is a
fine line. You reach that fine line and
you are no longer resilient, you’re on the
road to extinction.” “There is no time
like the present to appreciate what we
have and what we stand to lose, keep an
open mind, observe, listen to each other,
find common ground, and pitch in, most
of all give a hoot! It’s the American
way!”