Longtain Farm Culvert. Mouth

Transcription

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2 Longtain Farm Culvert Mouth

3 A Panoramic View of the Nelson Creek Drainage Basin from a ridge at 1000 feet. Nelson Creek is approximately 4 miles long. The Columbia River

4 Introductions Jeff Rooklidge, age 43, teacher, supervisor Kaylyn Kaattari, age 17, student, photojournalist Joel McEntire, age 17, student Paul Cutbirth, age 17, student Claire Cothren, age 17, student Becky Hoven, age 16, student Hayden Miles, age 15, student Kris Parke, age 15, student (sitcus)

5 Our Goals Complete a Habitat Survey of Nelson Creek. Survey and assess the Culvert at the intersection of Risk Road and Nelson Creek Road. Work with landowners to improve salmon habitat and increase salmon runs in Nelson Creek.

6 We observed new bridges and culverts installed to protect Nelson Creek. Forester For The Campbell Group And Cathlamet Timber Company Forester, Andy Hiegel took us on a guided tour of Cathlamet Timber s property in the Nelson Creek watershed. He taught us about forestry practices used to regrow trees after harvest.

7 Debriae Logging Safety Inspector Learning about forestry practices that protect salmon and other wildlife We observed a cable logging operation and learned how processors and other logging equipment can protect the forest.

8 Wahkiakum County Commissioner Dan taught us about Wahkiakum Counties dependence on Timber Trust Lands to provide revenue for running county government and community programs. We toured state Timber lands in Wahkiakum County and learned about forest practices. Commissioner Cothren also explained how government regulations restrict timber harvest in order to protect endangered species like Spotted Owls and Murralets.

9 Forester for Weyerhaeuser Timberlands in Longview, Washington Jeff Linquist taught us about the business and economic side of forestry and how this impacts his job as a forester. We learned about how economics and forestry impact the Timber Industry and how forestry practices are used at Weyerhaeuser to protect fish and water.

10 Seal Slough Field Trip. What does healthy fish habitat look like? Ian taught us about healthy fish habitat and the value of an estuary as an ecosystem. Estuary waters provide important nutrition to developing smolts Kris and Paul can t believe how tough it is to walk in the mudflat. Mudflats in estuaries support some of the most productive food chains in the world

11 Donna Hale from the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Steve Selser from the Clark Conservation District Jessica Harm from the Clark Conservation District Students helped the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Clark County Conservation District to assess whether the culvert under Risk Road inhibits fish from returning to their natural spawning habitat.

12 Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Wahkiakum County Public Works Director Pete Ringen taught us how an engineer designs a culvert that can handle water runoff coming out of a watershed. Students learned how a Public Works Director has to balance safety and environmental health with economic responsibility of using tax dollars wisely. Pete hands out snickers bars at the end of our session Pete Ringin teaches how to engineer a culvert

13 We were taught that commercial fishing started in the 1850 s. Irene taught us that most fishing information is passed down generation to generation orally through experience. She also taught us about local Wahkiakum history, the stories of Lewis and Clark, and history of the canneries.

14 Building the Elochoman Salmon Trap We spent the day with the Elochoman hatchery guys helping them put in the lower trap on the Elochoman River. The trap is used to catch returning Chinook Salmon for the Hatchery Spawning program. We learned a lot and had fun being in the river on a hot day.

15 We learned about stream hydraulics and how a stream channel can change course when too much sedimentation occurs. Wow! This culvert is huge.

16 Department of Fish and Wildlife Donna Hale and Danette Guy from the Department of Fish and Wildlife instructed us on how to fill out hydraulic permits to do stream clean up work and how to assess the health of salmon habitat in a stream.

17 Columbia River Estuary Task Force Stewardship Scientist Alan was the lead scientist who taught us how to conduct a habitat assessment. In this photo Kris Parke is helping to measure the depth of the stream in order to measure stream flow. Alan was awesome and we learned a ton despite getting eaten alive by Mosquitoes.

18 Our Stream Habitat Assessment Data

19 Stream Flow Data on Transect # 4

20 Tree Inventory Riparian Survey Data Water Quality Data

21 Geographic location Of stream data Riparian Inventory of trees and vegetation

22 Geographic location of stream data Instream sketch of pools, riffles, glides and other fish habitat structures

23 Stream flow (cfs) Elochoman Wilson Skamakowa Nelson Rivers

24 Elochoman Wilson Skamokawa Nelson River Temperature Celsius

25 Elochoman Wilson Skamokawa Nelson River Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

26 Data showing a cross section profile of the stream at the 25 year and 100 year flood events.

27 100 year flood plain 25 year flood plain Annual flood plain Nelson Creek Joel McEntire 8/2/05

28 1. Plant more vegetation, such as trees and shrubs along the banksespecially conifer trees to create more diversity. 2. Monitor beaver damming and remove ones that are a threat to flooding. 3. Encourage replacement of the Risk Road culvert with a bridge. 4. Clean the bridges in the upper watershed area, because of sediment build up. 5. Continue water quality testing ( especially on the dike and lower reaches) and plan riparian enhancement improvements on the dike. 6. Study the effects of planting eggs and fish in the creek as a fish enhancement stragedy.

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