You can almost hear the fish slapping their fins in glee.

The restoration of side channels on the Salmon River continues – and the
immediate beneficiaries are the Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, winter
steelhead and cutthroat trout.

“The side channels of the Salmon River provide essential habitat for
threatened and endangered species of salmon,” said Russ Plaeger of the
Sandy River Basin Watershed Council – the group spearheading the effort.
“The restoration efforts are an excellent example of what can be accomplished
through a partnership between private landowners, agencies and non-profit
organizations.”

The restoration at a fever pitch in August in the Arrah Wanna area of the
Salmon River as a Spyder hoe, log trucks and workers placed large logs at the
site.

“The logs are placed at locations within the side channels where they will
create deep scour pools, which provide cover and rearing habitat during the
summer low flow periods and holding water in winter during high flow events,”
Plaeger said. “This is particularly important for juvenile Coho, but adults
benefit as well.”

Stream complexity and habitat diversity is important for salmon and other
species such as Pacific lamprey. Logs in the channel help to create complex,
diverse physical habitats by scouring pools and trapping gravel.

The long term goal is to recreate habitat conditions that will improve runs of
fall and spring fish species. The limited amount of side channel habitat and
pools in the main river are two of the factors that presently limit the
productivity of the Salmon River, according to Plaeger.

Much of the habitat in the Sandy River basin was lost as a result of actions
during the 1964 flood. A number of side channels that had been used for adult
spawning and juvenile rearing were blocked off and large wood was removed
from the river channel and flood plain.

These actions decreased overall habitat diversity, prevented the flow of water
into some historic side channels and significantly reduced the habitat that
juveniles depend on.

Side channel projects have been completed on National Forest and BLM land.
An important private-public partnership accomplished restoration work on the
Wee Burn and a side channel at The Resort at the Mountain. Private
landowners on the half-mile Arrah Wanna side channel have been working
with the Forest Service and watershed council to restore and enhance habitat.
In the fall of 2008 a helicopter was used to place logs in a group of side
channels in the Miller Quarry vicinity. This summer, work is planned at some
site in the Mt. Hood National Forest and at the BLM’s Wildwood Recreation
Area. The Forest Service, The Freshwater Trust (formerly Oregon Trout) and
BLM are leading the instream habitat work while The Nature Conservancy and
the watershed council are leading efforts to control invasive plants and replant
native trees and shrubs.

Each of these organizations is a member of the Sandy River Basin Partners, a
coalition of private and public organizations working on salmon habitat and
watershed health throughout the Sandy River basin.

The work completed to date has made more of the side channels suitable as
nursery habitat, spawning habitat for adults and as a refuge from winter
storms.

Funding for the projects comes from a number of sources, including:
Payments to Counties funds; U.S. Forest Service appropriated funds; Oregon
Watershed Enhancement Board; EcoTrust; and other private sources.