Final Report Project: Big Creek Restoration & Enhancement

Transcription

1 Final Report Project: Big Creek Restoration & Enhancement Big Creek velocity barrier Big Creek Channel Diversion Grantor: Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Grantee: CREST

2 Introduction The Nicolai-Wickiup watershed is a fifth field watershed located in the northwest corner of Clatsop County, approximately 83 miles northwest of Portland and 15 miles east of Astoria. The Big Creek Restoration and Enhancement project is underway in Big Creek, one of the three main creeks in the watershed, which flows directly into the Columbia Estuary. The Big Creek subbasin has been exposed to landscape alterations similar in magnitude to those found throughout other Lower Columbia tributaries. The influences of these alterations at the subbasin level are reflected in the factors that have been identified as limiting the productive capacity of coho, winter steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout. Lack of instream complexity and lack of off-channel (overwintering) habitat are key stressors that have been identified in this basin as adversely affecting over-winter survival of coho, which require pools as an important part of their life cycle. Excessive summer rearing temperatures adversely affects survival of all species, particularly coho. Reaches 1 & 2 of Big Creek are priorities for both 1) riparian enhancement and 2) off-channel habitat enhancement through the placement of large wood (Big Creek Habitat Assessment, January 2007). A velocity barrier to fish movement obstructs access to at least 3 miles of high quality spawning coho habitat, and approximately 8 miles of spawning steelhead and cutthroat habitat. Using the Big Creek Habitat Assessment as a guide, the Nicolai-Wickiup Watershed Council proposed a restoration project to address limiting factors present within the Big Creek subwatershed. Partners involved in the project include Howard Kem (private landowner, in-kind contributions), Clatsop County (landowner), Hampton Affiliates (landowner, in-kind contributions), Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB, cash match), US Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program (USFWS CP, cash match), US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife Program (USFWS PFW, cash match), LCREP/BPA (cash match), and volunteers from local schools (blackberry removal and tree planting). LCREP/NOAA funds were used in this project for pre-project surveying, log placements, partial funding of the velocity barrier restoration, and seeding of disturbed areas of the restoration site. Construction of Restoration Activities Status: Complete Implementation of this project began in March, 2008 with riparian plantings on private land (Howard Kem) and at Big Creek County Park. Both areas were primarily dominated by either stands of blackberry or sparse to intermediate densities of alder. In areas with alder as the primary cover component, a corridor of conifers (hemlock, cedar and spruce) was planted behind the stand of alder (Figure 1). Blackberry thickets were lopped to ground level by hand by the County s inmate work crew. A student from Knappa High School s Future Farmer s of America program brought a tractor to the site and tilled the remaining blackberry roots to create more suitable planting medium. The County Youth Crew planted at both sites (Figure 2) under the direction of the watershed council s Americorps Education and Outreach Coordinator. The Americorps member also developed Planting and Establishment Records for each of the sites and set up photopoints. In August, 2008, the County youth crew re-visited the site for weed-

3 whacking; invasive reed canary grass made a strong release over the summer with the removal of blackberry cover. Figure 1. Big Creek County Park riparian planting site. Large blackberry thickets were lopped and the roots then tilled with a tractor. This made conditions for planting much more desirable. The goal at this site was to replace the non-functional, non-native riparian area dominated by less-desirable Alnus rubra and blackberry with native conifers, which, once they reach maturity, will provide much more in-stream function as large woody debris through the creation of pools and backwater rearing areas for salmonids. Figure 2. Clatsop County Youth Crew planted conifers and native shrubs at both Big Creek County Park and Howard Kem s property. The crew returned in late summer to cut back the weeds, which was primarily invasive reed canary grass.

4 Throughout winter and spring, 2008, permits applications were made and obtained. A General Authorization was obtained from USACOE and ODSL via a joint permit application for the placement of large woody debris into a side channel and culvert replacement at Big Creek County Park. USFWS completed Nationwide 27 permitting for the entire project (plantings, wood placements and the velocity barrier project), which includes: ESA, NEPA, NHPA (which includes SHPO concurrence and a process to trigger Tribal involvement), and Level 1 Contaminants. Since the velocity barrier project is on active timberland, authorization was received through Oregon Department of Forestry s Forest Practices Act to complete this aspect of the project. All permits are included at the end of this report in Appendix 1. At the end of May, 2008, a request for services was released to line up a construction contractor for the restoration projects. Bids for the project were due by mid-june, but only one bid was received and that bid was120k over the grant funds available for construction of the project. It was determined that some of the engineered designs for the velocity barrier bridges were not within the norm and that, in particular, the bridge abutments, as designed with keystone blocks, would be much too costly with the funding available. The deadline for the RFP was extended and CREST s project manager worked with construction contractors and the engineers to develop alternatives for the bridges that would be less costly. Additional RFPs were solicited and a construction contractor was selected (Vinson Brothers). It was at this time that additional funding for the project was also secured from LCREP/BPA. The selected contractor s alternative design required additional hydrologic and hydraulic analysis by both the restoration and bridge engineers. After stamped drawings were approved by the engineers, a construction contract was established. Because the designs were altered, negotiations needed to be made on price with the construction contractor. The process for hiring the construction contractor was very lengthy by the time we were ready to begin, the contractor had committed his trucks to another project. Vinson Brothers was able to get started in late August with the culvert replacement project and wood placement in the side channel at Big Creek County Park (see Figures 3 & 4). The work took approximately 3 days to complete. Hampton Affiliates donated the 5 culvert and stumps for the side channel. CREST staff noticed the side channel seemed to have accumulated sediment since reconnaissance work at the site the winter prior. Also, the December, 2007 storm that ravaged the North Coast had deposited wood into the channel already. Because of these two factors, CREST staff decided that a light treatment of wood placement would be more appropriate than the heavier treatment originally planned. Stumps instead of whole trees were added to the channel for complexity. These were buried with an excavator in the streambank at five locations.

5 Figure 3. Five-foot diameter culvert installed on a small tributary of Big Creek at Big Creek County Park. Figure 4. Large spruce stump installed in a side channel at Big Creek County Park. The 7 stumps will provide winter refugia for rearing juvenile salmonids seeking cover from the heavy currents in the Big Creek mainstem. Major components of the velocity barrier project include: 1) Removing two culverts and installing two rail car bridges (each bridge is composed of two rail cars), 2) Raising ~560 of the logging mainline by 6, 3) Minimal excavation of the historic channel, 4) Plugging the velocity barrier chute with a diversion not to be topped during a 100 year

6 flow event, and 5) Properly grading the historic channel entrance to meet hydrologic and fish passage concerns. See Figure 5 below for detail. Bridge Velocity barrier plug Big Creek mainline Historic channel Bridge Figure 5. Overview of project work for the velocity barrier project. Construction at the velocity barrier site completed thus far includes 1) purchase of the rail cars; 2) pouring of the eight concrete sills for the bridges (Figure 6); 3) clearing and grubbing (Figure 7); and 4) hauling and placing of fill material on-site (Figures 8 & 9). Figure 6. Concrete sill for one of the bridges. The sills require one month curing time.

7 Figure 7. Clearing and grubbing of the velocity barrier project site. The road is being widened in discrete locations to facilitate construction during active logging operations. Figure 8. Hampton Affiliates quarry, source of fill material.

8 Figure 9. Fill material being stored at the velocity barrier site. Project construction was delayed for most of the 2008/ 2009 winter due to an unanticipated timber harvest and early onset of the wet season. However, restoration activities resumed in May 2009, when Hampton Affiliates approved the temporary closure of the Big Creek logging road to allow the construction crew to access the restoration site. Restoration of the historic Big Creek channel occurred in May and June of 2009 (Figure 10). Rail car bridges were delivered and installed in July, 2009 (Figure 11). Prior to redirecting the project channel, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) inspected the site, and approved moving forward with the in-water work. ODFW biologists attempted to electroshock sections of the velocity barrier channel prior to diverting the channel. However, they experienced equipment malfunctions, and as a result determined that shocking fish was not necessary. In August, the historic channel was fully reopened (Figure 12). After the Big Creek channel was redirected, a dike was built across the artificial channel to plug the velocity barrier, and the area was seeded. All project construction was completed in September of 2009.

9 Figure 10. Excavated historic channel prior to water diversion. Figure 11. Newly installed rail car bridge.

10 Figure 12. Diverting Big Creek flows to the restored historic channel. Figure 13. Restored Channel 4 months after project construction. Monitoring and Maintenance Status: Complete CREST biologists conducted post-project monitoring for the Big Creek project from November 2009 to June Please see enclosed monitoring report for full details of monitoring activities and results.

11 Additional maintenance was conducted at the County Park restoration site during the summer of Maintenance activities included weed removal around riparian plantings at the County Park site. Project Outreach and Community Involvement Status: Ongoing Outreach activities for the Big Creek Restoration project included a site tour on October 15, 2009, as well as a feature article on the front page of the Daily Astorian on Tuesday November 3, An editorial article commending the project s efforts followed the Daily Astorian Big Creek story on November 5, In February of 2010, Bud Henderson with Hampton Affiliates was awarded the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stewardship award for his work implementing the Big Creek restoration project. This award is given out annually to one individual or organization in each of the four Forestry Department Districts in Oregon (Figure 14). Other community involvement includes implementation assistance removing invasive species around riparian plantings at the County park site by local MTC work crews, as well as monitoring assistance tagging salmon from the Big Creek Hatchery staff. Figure 14. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Award Ceremony on February 5, Fiscal Administration Status: Complete Final accounting for this project has been completed and sent separately. A final budget amendment was made at the end of the grant cycle. This amendment entailed transferring $ of unused money from the construction into the post-project monitoring and maintenance element. $ remaining in the project maintenance element was also transferred to post-project monitoring and maintenance.

12 Big Creek Final Budget Summary Budget Category LCREP/ (e.g. NOAA personnel, supplies, Funds contractual, etc.) Matching Contributions Total Expense Nature (cash or in kind) and Source of Match Amount Awarded $66, $305, $372, OWEB, USFWS, Hampton Affiliates, LCREP/ BPA, CREST Construction of Restoration Activities Project Management Post- Project Monitoring and Maintenance Fiscal Administration Total Spent to Date $34, $271, $306, OWEB- cash match, USFWS- cash match, LCREP/ BPA- cash match Hampton Affiliates- inkind $5, $2, $8, OWEB- cash match, USFWS- cash match, LCREP/ BPA- cash match $19, $2, $22, CREST- in-kind $6, $28, $35, OWEB- cash match, LCREP/ BPA- cash match $66, $305, $372,206.61

13 Appendix 1. Big Creek Restoration & Enhancement permits.

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