Public Feedback Requested for Proposed Little Fly Aquatic Restoration Project

By on Friday, March 24th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – (Release from the La Grande Ranger District) The La Grande Ranger District interdisciplinary team and Region 6 Regional Aquatics Team are designing a restoration project to improve fish habitat and passage within Little Fly Creek, a tributary to Fly Creek and the Grande Ronde River. The 33-acre analysis area is approximately 27 miles southwest of La Grande, Oregon on National Forest Service land. It is in the Little Fly Sub-watershed and the Headwaters Grande Ronde River Watershed. It is in the Timber Production Emphasis management area of the 1990 Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. 

Little Fly Creek provides spawning and rearing habitat to threatened Endangered Species Act (ESA) summer steelhead. 

Existing Condition:

At the location where National Forest System Road 5160 crosses Little Fly Creek, an undersized culvert  resulted in a downstream erosional head-cut within the stream channel. This head-cut has left a perched culvert and deeply incised channel about 7 feet below the surrounding meadow terrace and about 4 feet  

below the culvert outlet. This deep channel drains the former wetland area downstream of the road and has prevented migration of fish and other aquatic organisms through the culvert, preventing access to 1.8 miles of habitat upstream. 

Recently, the La Grande Ranger District added woody debris to Little Fly Creek below the culvert as part of a restoration project to improve fish habitat. Woody debris contributes many things to streams, including stream shade, hiding cover for fish, complex flow paths which create complex habitat, and a reduction in flow velocities. That wood will be incorporated into the new project design. 

Desired Condition: 

The La Grande interdisciplinary team and Regional Aquatics Team used the 1990 Wallowa-Whitman Forest Plan, Riparian Management Objectives, and Pacfish/Infish Standards to define the desired conditions for this project area:

2 

  • Restore stream channel integrity, channel processes, and the sediment regime consistent with the pre-management riparian and aquatic ecosystem.  
  • Restore natural timing and variability of the water table elevation in meadows and wetlands. 

Purpose and Need:

The interdisciplinary team proposes this project to: 

  • Improve connectivity of aquatic habitat and hydrologic function on a wet meadow system
  • Restore access to high quality fish habitat above the culvert. 

Proposed Action:

Implementation would occur in two phases over the course of one year.  

Phase 1 

Re-route National Forest System Road 5160 approximately 0.5 miles around the wet meadow upstream of the current crossing. A new open-bottom arch would be constructed about a quarter mile upstream of the existing culvert where the new road crosses Little Fly Creek. This passage would be designed and installed to meet Region 6 Aquatic Organism Passage requirements. A new road would be engineered and built along the best route as determined by consultation with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla and the La Grande interdisciplinary team. The existing route through the wet meadow would be used until the new construction is finished.  

Phase 2 

After the new route is open, the second phase of the project will begin: a Stage 0 style of restoration along ½ mile of Little Fly Creek centered on the current crossing. Stage 0 is a full valley bottom restoration that restores the streams’ ability to access to the available floodplain (restore floodplain connectivity). Re-establishment of floodplain connectivity allows distribution of high spring flows across the entire valley bottom and helps store water for a slow release throughout the summer. Additionally, this style of restoration helps increase available fish habitat and riparian vegetation. 

The portion of National Forest System Road 5160 that crosses the meadow would be removed during this phase. The removed road fill material and additional fill material from an adjacent source will be used as part of the restoration. The quantities required to restore stream and floodplain connectivity will be determined using LiDAR modeling. The exiting culverts will be removed.

Resource and Management Concerns:

Forest Plan, ESA, National Policy, and predictable outcomes based on similar projects within the watershed have prompted the interdisciplinary team to consider the following resource concerns. The La Grande Ranger District is seeking additional items to consider from forest users.  

Water Quality 

  • Maintain water quality while undergoing implementation.

Fish Habitat 

  • Ensure fish habitat exists around the project area for refuge during implementation.  

Cultural Resources 

  • Preserve all known cultural sites and protect sites uncovered during implementation. 

Protection of Investments and Infrastructure 

  • Ensure project design complements previous restoration effort.

Comments:

The Little Fly Aquatic Organism Passage and 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 April 21, 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=63578. 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 Brianna Carollo, 3502 Hwy 30, La Grande, OR 97850 or brianna.carollo@usda.gov. Thank you for helping with our restoration planning.  

Elkhorn Media Group