On Wednesday, March 11 at 7:00 at the Caddis Fly Angling Shop in Eugene, Charles Dewberry will be speaking about ongoing salmon restoration efforts in the Siuslaw basin, Tillamook basin and coastwide. His presentation will also explain the habitat needs of these simultaneously sensitive and tenacious fish and what is being done to improve conditions to ensure they continue to survive and thrive.
One of the most experienced fieldworkers in the Pacific Northwest in the field of salmon and watershed restoration ecology, Charley Dewberry is best known as the chief Architect of the Siuslaw Partnership’s Knowles Creek Restoration project which was a finalist for the prestigious Thiess Riverprize in 2003.
Charley’s work, along with that of many others on this project, uncovered many of the management principles that we take for granted today, most notably the importance of large woody debris in forming habitat for juvenile salmon and in capturing gravel for spawners amongst other benefits.
The improvements in the Knowles Creek basin have been tremendous. Strong runs of coho have become stronger, weak runs have improved by 200%-2000%, cutthroat have increased by 432%, steelhead by 28% and chinook are at historic levels!
The findings from the Knowles Creek basin have been applied to many basins throughout the region and it just might be that if you’ve caught a salmon in Oregon, you have Charley Dewberry to thank for that fish. Then again, maybe not. . . . They were there before, there were just fewer of them because their habitat was worse.–KM
Charley also led a complete snorkle survey of every salmon-bearing stream in Tillamook County over a couple of springs and made a map of the productive spawning areas. He couldn’t have been there at a better time because the runs were very strong, and he was there when all the young-of-the-year were popping up out of the gravel. That map allowed us to accurately designate key habitats in the Tillamook/Clatsop State Forests as “anchor habitats,” and will someday be the foundation for salmon preserves (the entire west coast desperately needs that kind of mapping). I can’t wait to thank him in person!
jeez, karl. we need something to argue about…hmm…i’ll try to think of something.