Decision made on Trout Creek restoration

Foresters will set to work soon to undo a century of man-made changes to Trout Creek Swamp 10 miles west of Sisters.

Back in the early 1900s, cattle ranchers in the Sisters country worked hard to turn Trout Creek Swamp into good grazing land for their cattle.

"They dug ditches through the swamp to channel the multiple meandering streams into a few deep, narrow ditches so that the water table would be lowered and there would be more dry areas for cattle to graze," according to a restoration project outline provided by the Sisters Ranger District.

In a decision announced last week, the Sisters Ranger District determined to fill in ditches "to prevent water from flowing back into these created channels."

According to the decision notice, fill material would be brought in from the Black Butte Pit. Rock cross-drains would be designed to pass water under topsoil or fill.

Plans call for restoration of meandering channels using lightweight equipment.

Invasive reed canary grass will be burned out rather than treated with pesticides and encroaching conifer trees will be hand-cut without the use of ground-based machinery.

Foresters will replace the culvert under Forest Road 1520, which allows water from the swamp to enter Trout Creek, with a larger, more 'fish-friendly' design."

For more information, contact the Sisters Ranger District at 549-7700.