La Grande Ranger District Restoring the Upper Grande Ronde River

By on Friday, June 16th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – (Release from the Wallowa Whitman National Forest The La Grande Ranger District (the District) would like to return areas impacted by mining operations in the upper Grande Ronde River to pre-mining conditions. Nearly two miles of waste rock from dredge mining (mine tailings) located within a historic mining area would be redistributed throughout the upper Grande Ronde and Clear Creek riverbeds in hopes of uplifting the single thread channels to an elevation like that of the adjacent floodplain. Floodplain acres that are not currently connected to the river would be added by moving approximately one mile of road upslope from its existing location. The project area extends across approximately 40 acres of the mainstem upper Grande Ronde River and Clear Creek, including the confluence of the East Fork Grande Ronde River with the mainstem Grande Ronde River. The District would like to hear your project-specific and constructive feedback on the Upper Grande Ronde River Mine Tailings Restoration (Mine Tailings) project. 

Purpose and Need 

The Mine Tailings Reach of the upper Grande Ronde River is a core spawning area for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed Snake River Basin spring/summer Chinook, as well as spawning and rearing habitat for ESA listed Snake River Basin Summer Steelhead. This reach is also feeding, migration, and overwintering habitat for ESA listed Columbia River Basin bull trout.  

Though fish still occupy this portion of the river, historic mining efforts substantially reduced the quality of aquatic habitat. The Mine Tailings project area was dredge mined for gold in the early to mid-1900s, a practice that removed materials from the river’s bottom to isolate valuable metals. This mining system extensively altered the river’s shape and disrupted processes that are important to healthy, productive aquatic habitat. Several aquatic restoration projects have made meaningful improvements within the Mine Tailings project area, but the river’s shape remains an altered, single channel with no connection to the floodplain and experiences poor ground water/surface water exchange.  

District and regional restoration specialists identified a need to improve natural riverine processes like sediment retention, transport and erosion processes, ground and surface water connection, water storage, habitat complexity, riparian vegetation vigor and recruitment, and nutrient cycling that is the foundation for a healthy food web (Beechie 2010). The purpose of this project is to modify the river’s channel in a way that promotes the return of these natural processes and restores healthy, productive aquatic habitat. 

Proposed Action 

Project Element #1 Relocate National Forest System Roads 5125/5138 

1.1 Approximately 1 mile of road would be relocated from the Muir Creek Road crossing on National Forest System Road (NFSR) 5125 to the East Fork Grande Ronde Road crossing on NFSR 5138.  • This includes approximately 0.5 mile of NFSR 5125 and 0.5 mile of NFSR 5138.  • These road segments would be moved upslope from the floodplain utilizing segments of an existing road prism leftover from past management activities.  

1.2 After NFSRs 5125 and 5138 undergo relocation, the remnant road segments would be obliterated.  Leftover material would either be used for stream and floodplain restoration or used for the new roadbed.  The new road location would end at a constructed turnaround adjacent to the East Fork of the Grande Ronde River.  

1.3 The culvert at the new turnaround would be removed to improve habitat and stream connection at the confluence of East Fork Grande Ronde and upper Grande Ronde Rivers. The remaining segment of NFSR  5138 would be converted to trail – accessible to off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and/or non-motorized traffic by a ford. The dispersed recreation site at the end of NFSR 5138 would remain unchanged.  

Recreation Access 

The 2010 project on this reach of river created new and expanded existing dispersed recreation sites using mine tailing materials removed from the floodplain. Relocating NFSR 5138 would change the entry points to these dispersed recreation sites, but no sites would be eliminated.  

• Access would be improved at five dispersed recreation sites since they would all be connected to the new road location.  

• Access to one site would be modified to OHV or non-motorized traffic, because culvert removal would make the East Fork Grande Ronde impassible to full size vehicles.  

Floodplain improvement outcome from project element #1  

• By moving the proposed section of NFSR 5125, we would gain 4.7 acres of floodplain. 

 o Total floodplain area increases from 10.3 to 15 acres.  

• By moving the proposed segment of NFSR 5138, we would reconnect 6 acres of discontinuous floodplain. 

o Total floodplain area increases from 13.27 to 19.27 acres. 

Project Element #2 Large wood harvest and haul 

Trees and slash needed for instream habitat and floodplain structures would be harvested with rootwads intact from the right of way on NFSR 5135 (Clear Creek Road) and within the road relocation footprint.  

Project Element #3 Muir Creek culvert replacement 

The Muir Creek culvert would be replaced with a culvert that meets Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish passage criteria. Additionally, project managers plan to install a second culvert at the low point in the road to prevent erosion from water that floods out of the channel and flows across the road’s surface.  

Project Element #4 Clear Creek full floodplain restoration

Clear Creek is a tributary that provides critical cold water to the upper Grande Ronde River.

4.1 Project managers propose approximately one mile of restoration on Clear Creek and the surrounding floodplain, connecting this confluence with improvements made on the upper Grande Ronde River.  

4.2 Additional actions include removing the non-system road material across Clear Creek and removing or replacing an undersized culvert on NFSR 5135 (tributary to Clear Creek). 

Project Element # 5 Grande Ronde River full floodplain restoration 

The channel and floodplain gradient were analyzed using LiDAR in 2021. This tool identified elevational differences within the floodplain that prevent connection with the river.  

5.1 To restore river and floodplain conditions to a continuous state, mine tailings would be added to low points (cut and fill areas) 

5.2 Trees harvested from NFSR 5138 would be added to the floodplain creating roughness and structure.  The bottom of the reach would tie in with the Woodlee Reach upstream of the Clear Creek bridge.  

Project Element # 6 East Fork Grande Ronde 

Mine tailings located on the bank’s edge of East Fork Grande Ronde River would be added to areas with deep incision. This would complement the 2021 project that added wood structures to East Fork Grande Ronde.  

Preliminary Project Design Criteria 

To prevent unwanted impacts to aquatic species, affected aquatic habitat would be dewatered and fish, mussels, and Columbia spotted frogs would be temporarily relocated before heavy machinery begins work.  This would occur during the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in-water work window (July 1st– July 31st). 

Comments 

The Mine Tailings Restoration project is a proposal and not a decision. Your comments will help us identify issues associated with the proposal. Comments are most helpful if submitted early. Please reply by July 17, 2023. The comments you submit will become public record. 

The preferred method to submit comments is through our public webpage: 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=64101. Select the “Comment on Project” link in the “Get Connected” group at the right-hand side of the project webpage. Alternatively, written comments can be submitted to Stephaney Kerley – District Ranger, 3502 Hwy 30, La Grande, OR 97850. Thank you for helping with our restoration planning.

Elkhorn Media Group