Oregon grant goes to WW Basin Watershed Council
By Terry Murry on Friday, May 3rd, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The Private Forest Accord Grant program is awarding $10 million for habitat restoration efforts state wide. One of the 25 projects receiving funding from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is the effort in Umatilla County to improve fish habitat across a 5.2-mile stretch of the North Fork Walla Walla River.
The work will be performed by the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council. It helps fund the continuing effort to restore the river’s natural features like pools, meanders, and woody debris after the 2020 flood.
ODFW states in a news release that the work will make the river a healthier home for many fish species including steelhead, redband trout, bull trout, Chinook salmon, and mountain whitefish. The flood significantly reduced the suitability of the river for fish.
The majority of the width of the valley was made available for floodplain restoration and there are no dwellings within the project area. Work began on the restoration in 2022. A flumed channel was converted to a complex network of braided channels, some side channels were completed, and hundreds of trees and boulders have been added.
More information about this and other projects can be found at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/habitat/PFA/projects/index.html.
