Temporary road closure FSR 5160 starting Sept. 9 for Little Fly Creek Meadow restoration

BAKER CITY – (Release from the U.S. Forest Service) The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has plans to restore aquatic organism passage and the meadow conditions of Little Fly Creek by relocating the section of FSR 5160 around the meadow, replacing the fish barrier culvert with a new open-bottomed arch, and performing restoration along Little Fly Creek through the month of September.

The current road crosses Little Fly Creek with an undersized, fish barrier culvert that has resulted in degraded conditions downstream. The migration of native fish and other aquatic organisms is prevented by the culvert and the deeply incised conditions of the channel. Work will begin to remove the current road prism and restore stream conditions to mirror the natural state of the meadow upstream. The new Aquatic Organism Passage crossing will reconnect 1.8 miles of stream habitat for ESA-threatened Snake River Summer Steelhead and other native fish, as well improve the transport of floodwater and sediment downstream. For more information on the Little Fly Creek AOP and Restoration Project: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/wallowa-whitman/?project=63578

To complete this work, FSR 5160 will be closed from mile point 14.7 (at FSR 5160-155) through mile point 17.5 (at the rock pit above Sheep Creek) starting on Sept. 9. The northern section of FSR 5160 can still be accessed from Hwy 244 and the eastern section around Sheep Creek, from FSR 5100.

The public is being asked to plan their travels in the area with this closure in mind. Forest Service, excavation, and construction vehicles are expected to be working in the area into October. As always, please drive safe if you are visiting the area.

The newly re-routed section of FSR 5160 is anticipated to be open by Oct. 1, 2024. For more information about this project and others, contact our La Grande District office at 541-962-8500. 

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Elkhorn Media Group