Land Trust formally launches Camp Polk project

For more than a decade, the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and the Deschutes Land Trust have been talking about restoring natural steam health and hydrology to Whychus Creek and Camp Polk Meadow. It's no longer talk; it's happening.

Last week, work began on the project; and Sarah Mowry, Outreach Manager for the Land Trust, helped organize what amounted to a groundbreaking ceremony attended by local officials, supporters, and contributors from all over the state. Mowry stated, "The Land Trust first purchased the property in 2000 after a fairly involved process and several near fails - with the hope that one day we would be able to restore the meadow for native fish and wildlife." Now, she says, "A dream finally comes true."

Brad Chalfant, executive director of the Land Trust, and Ryan Houston, executive director of the Watershed Council, led the ceremonial tour. Chalfant welcomed the attendees and gave a brief history of Camp Polk. In 1997, he said, it appeared likely that the 145-acre historic and habitat-rich site would be subdivided. The Land Trust and Watershed Council decided to try to do something to prevent that.

Twelve years later, the land is not only protected, but restoration work has begun.

"It's been a long time coming," said Chalfant, "and it's not going to happen overnight. With our partners, though, we're confident we can bring this place back."

During the 1960s, a misguided flood control effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers destroyed 18 miles of the creek's natural meanders, wetlands, and much of the fish habitat. The resulting artificially straight and deep channels robbed the land of a huge groundwater reservoir and resulted in serious erosion problems. Houston pointed out one section of the stream where 13 feet of the meadow was washed away during just one high-water event.

"We're here to undo the work that was done 50 years ago," Houston said. Another problem he noted is the over-allocation of irrigation rights on Whychus Creek. "When we first started looking at this," he said, "one of the problems was that there wasn't much water in the creek. Today, you'll notice that there's quite a bit of water here."

Houston credited the Deschutes River Conservancy and others with helping restore water flow to the Whychus Creek system. Other major supporters of the project include the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nature Conservancy and Portland General Electric (PGE). The Deschutes National Forest has also been a major participant in the restoration process and design of the project.

PGE was represented at the event by Greg Concannon, Fish and Wildlife resources manager for the company.

"We can pass salmon and steelhead by the dams," he said, "but it's important that the streams above are capable of supporting the spawning and rearing of anadromous fish when they arrive." Consequently, he explained, "PGE and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, co-licensees for the Pelton-Round Butte Hydroelectric Project, were instrumental in helping the Deschutes Land Trust secure and preserve the property.

PGE and the Tribes, along with state and federal resource agencies, conservation groups and irrigation districts, are major players in the overall effort to restore salmon and steelhead to the upper Deschutes Basin."

An historically researched course has been laid out for the excavators to follow, and the machinery is already on scene. On-site preparation included test holes to physically locate portions of the original streambed rock, thereby confirming the accuracy of the planned reconstruction of the channel.

Piping has been laid out in the meadow and 420-1086.will be used in the newly excavated channel to irrigate more than 110,000 plantings of native plant species. It will take a couple of years, but the temporary piped-in irrigation will permit the plant life to become established in the new streambed before the creek runs through it. Otherwise, if the full force of the creek were directed into the newly reconstructed channel, much of the work - and new vegetation - would likely be washed away.

Houston likened the meadow to a "big sponge," and said, "We need to fill up the meadow with water, so it will hold enough water to connect the surface water to the groundwater." This, he said, would allow the meadow to release water over time during dry periods and help lower the water temperature, which is a critical factor in fish spawning and survival.

The Whychus Creek restoration is one of the most ambitious stream restoration projects thus far in Oregon and will involve moving more than 20,000 cubic yards of soil and placing 500-600 downed trees along the stream channel for habitat stabilization.

Chalfant praised the participation of all the project partners and emphatically stated, "This is the community's property. It's not mine. It's not the Land Trust's. It's the community's, and we'd love to have you all involved."

For more information contact the Land Trust at 330-0017 or http://www.deschuteslandtrust.org.