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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2019)
10 community march21 2019 UNWC Recaps Productive Year “very productive” for the UNWC, its Board of Directors, and its numerous partners, with successful projects across a wide spectrum of watershed health and native salmon recovery activities. Near- ly $1.3 million in grant funds have been disbursed since 2017 to successfully implement ecosystem infrastructure im- provement projects in Columbia, Clat- sop, Tillamook, and Washington coun- ties. “This was our best year for high profile restoration projects,” said Pey- ton. “We did a large culvert replacement project on Apiary Road, a pilot project helping create beaver dams, and we placed a lot of large woody debris struc- tures in streams. We also got quite a bit of recognition for some of our work.” The original UNWC Charter was recognized by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners in July 1996 and by the Clatsop County Local Gov- ernment Group in August 1997. Since that time UNWC has continued to edu- cate local communities while helping address watershed management issues in coordination and cooperation with key regional stakeholders composed of government agencies, environmental protection groups, local contractors, and private landowners - including the tim- ber industry. The end goal continues to be a balanced ecosystem that supports a healthy watershed while providing for an economic base and viable communi- ties. Primary funders/partners/do- nors include the Wild Salmon Center, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Oregon Department of Forest- ry (ODF), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Columbia County Road Department, Weyerhaeuser Com- pany, and Stimson Lumber Company. One of the most visible projects this past year partnered with Columbia County Road Department on Oak Ranch Creek and replaced an undersized cul- Absolute MARBLE QUALITY FABRICATION & INSTALLATION MARBLE GRANITE TRAVERTINE FREE ESTIMATES Kitchen Countertops Fireplace & Furniture Tubs & Vanities CCB#204480 Phone 503-429-2617 AbsoluteMarble@frontier.com continued from front page vert under Apiary Road with an open bottom reinforced concrete arch allowing uncon- ditional salmon passage. That project, along with two other bridge installation projects that replaced undersized culverts in the Mist/Birkenfeld area on Lane Creek and Calvin Creek, opened up a total of 20 miles of productive aquatic habitat. “We did ‘stream sim- ulation’ work on all three of those crossings, which is an ad- ditional layer of work that re- builds the stream beds once the culvert is removed but before the bridge is placed,” explains Peyton. “It stabilizes that reach of the stream and protects the bridge abutments.” Two of those projects were in collaboration with Weyerhaeuser, who Peyton says were good partners to work with. “I have to give them a thumbs up – they did a really good job helping write the grant for funding, managing the projects, and keeping us in the loop.” The other high profile project was the installation of what are called Beaver Dam Analogues (BDA) on four different streams that contain wild coho salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout populations. This pilot project installed a total of 27 structures (wood poles sunk vertically into the ground about two feet apart across the stream and then interwo- ven horizontally with willow, maple, or conifer branches) in small stream tribu- taries on ODF managed public land, including the north Fork of Lousignont Creek south of Highway 26 towards Timber, on Upper Rock Creek and Bear Creek near the rest area on Highway 26, and Buster Creek near Jewell. These BDAs act as footholds for the beaver to build out into full-fledged dams, providing shallow, cold water pools where coho can find food and cover from predators. These types of off-channel habitats are essential for ju- venile coho and other species to survive and grow. Beavers are considered a “keystone species,” an organism whose pond-creating powers help support entire biological communities. continued on page 16