Volunteers visited Finn Rock Reach in hopes of rescuing some natives and dispatching some “invasives” this week. The project is well underway and is going to provide tons more habitat for salmonids on the middle McKenzie River. We caught largemouth bass and a nice Bull Frog.
More about the project below.
From McKenzie River Trust
Partners begin implementation of the final phase of floodplain restoration at Finn Rock Reach on the middle McKenzie River
Two and a half years after the Holiday Farm fire burned more than 173,000 acres in the McKenzie River valley, partners are breaking ground on the second and final phase of floodplain restoration work at Finn Rock Reach, a 278-acre conservation area owned by local nonprofit McKenzie River Trust. Starting in the summer of 2021, restoration activities have included reshaping roughly 120 acres of floodplain forest, and returning the area back to aquatic habitat along the Middle McKenzie River.
The project, led by partners at McKenzie River Trust, the US Forest Service, and the McKenzie Watershed Council, builds on years of investments in the Middle McKenzie Valley. Using what restoration practitioners call “process-based design,” the work simulates a large flooding event, spreading sediments across the site and lowering the floodplain back to historic elevations. On any given project day, people passing the area on Highway 126 can expect to see large equipment moving soil, rocks, and trees. Through excavation, new channels will be created and adorned with engineered large wood structures that will support the slowing and spreading of water across the site. This large wood not only promotes improved water quality but also provides critical habitat for fish and wildlife, including endangered Spring Chinook salmon who use the area for spawning and rearing.
This project is made possible by committed community partners and funders including the U.S. Forest Service, the McKenzie Watershed Council, the Eugene Water & Electric Board, the Bureau of Land Management, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Bonneville Power Administration, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), BCI Contracting Inc., Wolf Water Resources, and the Pacific Lamprey Initiative.
