For the past 20 years, the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council (SRBWC) has worked to improve fish habitat, water quality and more in the Sandy River basin, with projects including
reconnecting historical floodplains and side channels back to the river system,
distributing fish carcasses to bring more nutrients to the ecosystem and
playing a role in the removal of the Marmot and Little Sandy Dams in 2007
and 2008, respectively. The group will celebrate the two decades of stream
improvements, plus the 10th anniversary of the removal of the Marmot Dam,
from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Riverview Restaurant, 29311 SE
Stark Street in Troutdale.

Steve Wise, SRBCW’s Executive Director, noted that the group’s aim is for the
Sandy River basin to be an anchor habitat for the lower Columbia River, and
that the early indications are that their work is paying off.

“We’re going to be a salmon stronghold for the Columbia,” Wise said. “If
people stay with us, we can do it.”

Wise will deliver “The State of the Sandy” at the event, including statistics on
how the basin has changed in particular over the past decade, or what
amounts to 2.5 generations of salmon. He noted that there are increases in
wild fish, particularly with spring Chinook and wild steelhead, with numbers in
the past decade substantially higher than in the previous one.

“From that, we take great encouragement,” Wise said. “It’s too early to
declare victory, but we can definitely declare progress.”

The numbers for Coho and fall Chinook are not quite as positive, partly due to
the accuracy of the numbers due to the water conditions at that time of year.
But Wise also stressed that removing the two dams were only part of the
puzzle to help raise the numbers of salmon in the basin.

“Dam removal was a great leap forward for the river, but that alone wouldn’t
be enough to restore wild fish,” he said, citing the other types of projects the
group has been a part of since then, such as planting native vegetation and
removing invasive species. “The trick is that rivers are complicated and fish
biology is complicated.”

Wise noted that one big factor in improving the basin has been the willingness
of the community to help, including landowners who own property next to a
river. He cited an example of a floodplain restoration project upstream of
Brightwood, where the community members of Timberline Rim stepped up to
provide $20,000 to the effort.

“They contributed cash to planning and building of side channel restoration
because they felt responsible and saw it was worth the community getting
together,” Wise said. “The willingness of the community is a huge asset and a
critical piece of the future of the Sandy.”

Wise added that when decision was made to remove the two dams, it was a
“radical notion,” but since then, thousands of other dams have been removed
throughout the country, including a number of larger ones.
“We’ve proven that not only can you do it, but it’s a productive and essential
step for watersheds,” he said.

Wise noted that in the coming years, the council plans on performing more
restoration efforts, including additional areas in the upper Sandy River and
areas that have been shown to be more productive habitat for fish than
originally thought, including Beaver Creek and Kelly Creek in the lower Sandy.
He also added that keeping people aware of the importance of salmon habitat
will play a key role moving forward, particularly with the numbers of
recreational visitors increasing to enjoy biking, skiing, paddling and more.
“That’s going to be important in the long run; people will keep coming,” Wise
said. “The Sandy is a regionally significant natural resource.”

“We’ve got a really strong running start on the restoration side of things;
having a free flowing river is a tremendous advantage,” he added. “It will take
more than one decade to recover from the impacts of a century.”

The SRBWC celebration and The State of the Sandy will include appetizers and
desserts, including coffee, tea, juices and a cash bar. There will also be a
silent auction, including art and tickets to the Portland Thorns. The event is
sponsored by Portland General Electric’s Habitat Fund, Metro and the Port of
Portland. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $15 for students, and can

be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sandyversary-tickets-
36497845037.

For more information, visit http://sandyriver.org/.