One of the CWC’s biggest projects of 2022 was the Upper Calapooia Steelhead Habitat Enhancement. After a couple of years’ delay, in July 2022 several full sized trees with rootwads attached were successfully placed into the upper Calapooia River to improve habitat conditions for ESA-listed winter steelhead.
The added instream complexity will trap spawning gravel and provide juvenile steelhead refuge during both high winter flows and low water periods during the summer.
We were also able to remove an unused road that was constricting the floodplain on both sides of the river after the ’96 flood had washed out the bridge. Large boulders from the road bed were utilized to add additional instream structure and complexity.
Funded by OWEB as the #1 ranking project in the Willamette Region, CWC partnered with Sweet Home Ranger District, USFS.