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Projects
While there has been significant loss of habitat within the Calapooia Watershed, many natural features that historically promoted high fish and wildlife productivity are still intact. Fortunately, many of the processes that have been altered by humans over the years are reversible.
The projects of the Calapooia Watershed Council include: Fish Passage Projects & Riparian Corridor Restoration Projects
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Fish Passage Projects
Brownsville Dam Removal
Riparian Corridor Restoration Projects
Knotweed Inventory and Control
Knotweed Facts: - Introduced to the United States from Asia in the 1700s as an ornamental plant - Thick green to reddish stems that look similar to bamboo - Large bright green leaves; egg to heart-shaped with a pointed tip - Sprouts in April and grows several feet tall by July - Spikes of white flowers appear during the summer - Found in flood zones along rivers and creeks, also occurs in ditches and yards - Chokes out native plants - Treatment: Herbicide has proven to be the most effective. ‘Roundup’ can be used to treat knotweed plants in fields or upland areas. ‘Rodeo’ or ‘Garlon 3A’ can be used to treat stands near water. Do not mow, as fragments of the plant are capable of producing new plants.
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Calapooia Watershed Council |
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The Brownsville Dam removal is now completed! For more information about the project, click here. The Council would like to thank all funders, partners, and technical team members for their hard work and dedication to this project!
The next steps for this project include installing a pump system to deliver water into the Brownsville Canal at a rate of 2.5 cfs (cubic feet per second). The pump will be installed during the summer 2008 in-stream work window. Oregon State University researchers will also be working with the Council and partners to monitor various aspects of the changing river channel over the next few years. |
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Culvert Replacements
The CWC completed a culvert inventory in 2003 to identify and prioritize 110 fish passage barriers (culverts and bridges) that need to be fixed throughout the Calapooia Watershed. The Council is currently using this database to work together with willing landowners and agencies to improve culverts. Culverts along Brush Creek, a fish-bearing tributaryof the Calapooia River, will be replaced in the next few years through partnerships with Linn County Roads Department and the Bureau of Land Management. Weyerhauser, a large landowner in the upper watershed, has improved many culverts, roads, and riparian areas on their property. |
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In 2006, the Council began a knotweed inventory and control project. Because knotweed is an extremely aggressive invasive plant, it is important to inventory knotweed and treat it where possible before more knotweed spreads, costing more money to eradicate. With the permission of private landowners, the Council created a database of knotweed occurrence and treated several properties in the fall. This project will be ongoing, focusing on middle and lower reaches over the next couple years. If you have knotweed on your property, please call us! |
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Restoration of Community Parks Pioneer Park: Restoration of Pioneer Park in Brownsville has been an ongoing project for several years. Due to past practices of riprap and disposing of large trash items, erosion is occurring along this riparian corridor of the Calapooia River. For the past several springs, council members and volunteers have removed invasive Himalayan Blackberry and other invasive weeds that choke out native plants. Native plants have been planted to improve bank stabilization, and are monitored throughout the year. Council members have also created a meandering nature trail with signs labeling the plant species. Kirk Park: Restoration of Kirk Park, located near the mouth of the Brownsville Millrace, began in Spring 2008. Over the next few years, Council members will continue to remove invasive blackberry and establish native plants to improve the health of this park. Albany Parks: The Council has also been partnering with the City of Albany in removing English ivy and other invasive weeds from Bryant Park, Monteith Park, and other parks throughout the city. It is important to improve the native vegetation along the Calapooia River as it makes its way through Albany to the Willamette River. |
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Landowner Restoration Projects Because the Calapooia Watershed is 94% privately owned, private landowners play a large role in restoring and improving the health of the watershed. The Calapooia Watershed Council offers links to technical and financial resources to help landowners complete restoration projects on their property to improve watershed health. If you’d like to do a project, please contact us! We will specifically be focusing on the Brush Creek sub-watershed over the next couple years, 2007 - 2009. |
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Middle Reach of the Calapooia River The middle reach of the Calapooia River has been prioritized for restoration and enhancement activities by the watershed assessment. The Council is working with River Design Group, Inc. to review existing information, complete a field assessment, and identify potential restoration, conservation, and/or resource protection opportunities on the Middle Calapooia River between the former Brownsville Dam site and the Sodom Dam. Objectives include: - Address existing river corridor conditions that may affect migratory fish species - Identify potential restoration sites to provide typical treatments for improving fish habitat, including development of historic side channels and large wood placement - Identify sites to complete riparian improvements to prevent water temperatures from increasing, provide habitat, and bank stability - Provide treatment approaches for addressing severe bank erosion that is currently impacting landowners in the reach and has resulted in the use of riprap - Increase channel complexity
Click here for a scope of work, created by River Design Group, Inc.
Click here for a draft of the Middle Calapooia River Project Implementation Plan |
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Sodom Dam at Thompson’s Mills The only other mainstem fish passage barrier in the watershed is at River Mile 28, the Sodom Dam. Over the next couple years, the Council will be working closely with private landowners and Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (mill’s owners) to develop a workable solution to the fish passage issues. |
