The Columbia press., October 30, 2020, Page 5, Image 5

The Columbia Press
October 30, 2020
5
Columbia River project turning dredge spoils into habitat restoration
The Columbia Press
A $1.39 million effort to use
dredge spoils to benefit native
species is under way in the Co-
lumbia River.
Columbia River Estuary
Study Taskforce, or CREST, is
working with the Port of Port-
land and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to create habitats
for native species on Wood-
land Island, a group of small
islands with historically shift-
ing configurations in the river
near the city of St. Helens.
“It’s a very unusual partner-
ship where everybody worked
together,” Warrenton City
Commissioner Rick Newton
said. He serves on the CREST
board along with officials from
Astoria, Gearhart, Seaside, Il-
waco, Cannon Beach and Clat-
sop County.
The $1.39 million effort took
four days and moved 250,000
cubic yards of material.
“To get an idea of how much
was moved, if they’d used
trucks, it would have taken
them six months to do that,”
Newton said.
Courtesy CREST
Woodland Island is covered with trees and the placement of
dredge spoils at the west end will create additional habitat for
fish and other species.
Finding a place to put spoils
after they’ve been removed
from the river bottom is a
struggle for municipalities.
When silt builds up, it can
make the river impossible for
cargo ships to navigate.
The spoils were placed in a
backwater embayment to cre-
ate shallow-water habitat for
juvenile salmon. The area will
be planted next year so it won’t
attract tern colonies or Scotch
broom, according to a report at
CREST’s Oct. 22 board meet-
ing. The nonprofit group will
monitor the site for at least five
years.
A report from the Corps of
Engineers says a variety of fish
species use the area and what
remains of the intertidal wet-
lands and flood plains along
the lower river is essential in
helping the salmon population
recover.
Yoga instructor to lead discussion on mindfulness
A community discussion
on mindfulness during tur-
bulent times is set for 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 5.
The event is sponsored by
Clatsop Community College
and Fort George Brewery and
is part of the Ales & Ideas
monthly lecture series.
Julia Mabry, a yoga and life
sciences instructor at the col-
lege, will lead the discussion
on Facebook Live.
Practical mindfulness does
not have to start with a med-
itation retreat in the moun-
tains of Tibet, organizers
said.
During the interactive pre-
sentation, participants will
explore ways to draw their
attention to everyday experi-
ences in the environment.
Participants can learn
Yoga instructor Julia Mabry
about “amazing feats the
brain accomplishes to create
reality.”
The event will broadcast
from the brewery’s Lovell
Showroom.
To participate, log into
Facebook and go to Fort
George Brewery’s site.
Virtual participants will get
a live multimedia slide pre-
sentation plus an opportuni-
ty to ask questions.
“There have been a number
of instances where dredged
material has been placed in
large river systems over the
past 50 years, including the
Columbia River,” the report
states. “In many cases, wet-
lands have formed as a result of
the combined effect of dredged
material placement and pile
dikes, which help stabilize the
dredged material and thereby
provide adequate time for hab-
itat to form.”
The project will benefit six
wetlands and flood plains and
should be self-sustaining.
Beginning in 2015, the corps
identified multiple habitat res-
toration sites in the river with
the Woodland Island site rank-
ing highest.
About 27 miles upstream, the
Washington State Department
of Fish and Wildlife plans a
Salmon habitat restoration
project at Shilapoo Wildlife
Refuge.
The project includes remov-
al of several dikes, levies, and
gates that would make a per-
fect habitat for juvenile salm-
on. While it wouldn’t directly
affect the Woodland Island
project, it would add to the
benefits for migrating salm-
on.
Woodland Islands was creat-
ed in the 1870s by dredging the
St. Helens bar.