Awarded Projects

Project Abstract:

Funding is needed to remove Aamodt Dam, a privately owned, channel-spanning flashboard dam on Rock Creek in the Pudding River watershed. The dam currently blocks access to 20 miles of stream habitat above the dam, 8.1 miles of which exhibit anadromous spawning and rearing potential of ESA-listed Upper Willamette Winter Steelhead, Spring Chinook Salmon, and Coho salmon, and 3.4 miles of which are potential cold water refugia, according to the findings of the 2023-24 Rapid Bio Assessment (RBA) snorkel survey of the watershed. This project is important to prioritize at this time because there is a willing landowner who plans to sell the property soon, 65% design plans in hand, the ODFW Screen Shop has agreed to be the lead contractor and would in-kind all of their labor hours, making the project much more affordable, and project partners including Clackamas SWCD and ODFW have been working towards this removal for over a decade.

Project Abstract:

Antelope Creek, a major Little Butte Creek tributary, provides 16 miles of winter steelhead, 21 miles of summer steelhead, and 5 miles of Coho salmon habitat. Agricultural and residential practices degrade water quality through tailwater return flows, livestock access, and loss of streamside canopy. Antelope Creek impairments include dissolved oxygen, bacteria, temperature, pH, nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and hydrograph modification. This project restores 45 acres of riparian forest along Antelope Creek, Spring Creek, and Yankee Creek by removing blackberry and other invasives and reestablishing native trees, shrubs, and understory vegetation using active and passive replanting and reseeding. We will install 23,810 feet of livestock exclusion fencing to protect vegetation and improve roughly 2 miles of Coho and steelhead habitat. Restored streamside forests reduce solar heating, improve water quality, and prevent livestock-related bacteria, sedimentation, and spawning gravel degradation.

Project Abstract:

The Aspen Valley Floodplain Reconnection Plan (NB: Crooked River was channelized in 1965 by the US Army Corps of Engineers) aims to enhance the ecological health and hydrological function of the Upper Crooked River near Post, Oregon. The project will develop a comprehensive, shovel-ready design to improve floodplain connectivity, hydrology, and aquatic habitat over a 4.3-mile stretch of the river. Key deliverables include design alternatives analysis, development of engineered design plans and secure all required permits, ensuring a shovel-ready plan. By engaging stakeholders such as the Crooked River Watershed Council (CRWC), Crook County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD), Deschutes River Conservancy (DRC), and Deschutes Land Trust (DLT), and the NRCS, the project will support native fish and wildlife species and enhance the river's resilience to climate change and lay the groundwork for the Upper Crooked River Valley's long-term ecological and economic sustainability.

Project Abstract:

The Bear Creek Delong Fish Passage Expansion project is located southwest of Junction City, OR, in the mainstem of Bear Creek, a major tributary to the Long Tom River. This project addresses the urgent need to remove the final 2 remaining artificial fish passage barriers—an abandoned 6' x 25' concrete dam and a double-culvert bridge—that prevent native fish from accessing >1.3 miles of cold-water refuge headwater habitat. These barriers block essential spawning and rearing areas for species such as coastal cutthroat trout, Pacific lamprey, and other native fishes. Implementation includes the removal of both fish passage barriers, installation of a roughened channel and a floodplain-spanning bridge, restoration of approximately 0.2 miles of in-stream habitat, and revegetation of 1 acre of riparian habitat with native species. The project builds on over a decade of fish passage restoration in the Bear Creek watershed and is a part of a multi-phase, landscape-scale restoration vision.

Project Abstract:

The Camp Baldwin Dam Removal Project will remove the uppermost and last permanent fish passage barrier on Ramsey Creek, a derelict concrete and earthen dam that blocks all upstream passage and degrades channel function. Ramsey Creek and Fifteenmile Creek are high‑priority cold‑water habitats designated as critical habitat for Middle Columbia River steelhead and mapped as Essential Salmonid Habitat. The barrier is listed as Group 15 on the ODFW Statewide Priority Barrier List and ranks among the top ten priority barriers in the Mid‑Columbia District. Located immediately upstream of another high‑priority barrier slated for removal, this coordinated effort will reopen several miles of habitat. The project will remove the dam, fish ladder, and control structure, followed by revegetation and two years of monitoring, restoring roughly 2 miles of habitat for ESA‑listed steelhead, Redband Trout, Pacific Lamprey, and native amphibians.

Project Abstract:

Canoe Takeout Ditch Fish Screening is a fish screen fabrication and installation project on Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Canoe Takeout is a diversion ditch along the Donner und Blitzen River on the Refuge that has been identified as a high priority for fish screening. This ditch is used to connect Donner und Blitzen floodwaters to >2,500 acres of adjacent wet meadow habitat during irrigation season and is essential for Refuge staff to meet their habitat management goals. However, it is presently unscreened, putting Great Basin Redband Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss newberri) at risk of becoming entrained in wet meadows as they migrate up- and downstream. Installation of an appropriately designed fish screen at Canoe Takeout Ditch will provide meaningful conservation benefit to the Malheur Lakes Species Management Unit of O. m. newberri by addressing a primary limiting factor identified in the subspecies recovery plan – impeded access to habitat due to dams and diversions.

Project Abstract:

The Cunningham Creek Fish Passage and Riparian Improvement Project will restore access to 2.7 miles of winter steelhead and 2.2 miles of coho salmon habitat, and improve 1 mile of riparian corridor along Cunningham Creek, a tributary of the Coquille River. Passage is blocked by two undersized culverts: a perched concrete box culvert with a 2-foot drop under a county road, and a repurposed steam-donkey boiler culvert on a farm/forest road with an 18-inch perch and chronic erosion. Both fail state and federal fish-passage standards, constrict the active channel, and create high-velocity flows and scouring. They are strong, although not complete barriers for adult salmonids and complete barriers for juveniles and Pacific lamprey. Riparian conditions are degraded by invasive vegetation and limited shade. Coos SWCD proposes to replace both culverts with bridges meeting ODFW guidelines and restore 1 mile of riparian habitat with support from landowners, Coos County, ODFW, and OWEB.

Project Abstract:

The East Creek Culvert Removal and Road Decommissioning Project will implement high priority actions for salmon recovery, restoring over 10 miles of essential salmon habitat in the Nestucca River watershed. With support from federal and other partners, Nestucca, Neskowin, & Sand Lake Watersheds Council will, via competitive bidding process, hire and oversee a skilled contractor to remove three fish passage culverts and 10 drainage culverts on Bureau of Land Management property; 2.5 miles of mid-slope road also will be decommissioned. NNSLWC will monitor and document baseline and post-restoration conditions, per Salmon SuperHwy protocols. The project will deliver measurable improvements in riparian function, including water quality and instream morphology--key factors for recovery of Oregon Coast Coho, winter steelhead and cutthroat trout that utilize East Creek and its tributaries. Benefits also will accrue to the local community in flood hazard reduction and sustained local fisheries.

Project Abstract:

The project will improve conditions on a total of 60 acres and 1.25 stream miles in a range of habitat types. The project will restore hydrology to 52 acres of floodplain habitat, improve and enlarge two acres of seasonal wetland pools, reconnect Ferguson Creek to two historic floodplain channels, install beaver dam analogues and log jams on 1.25 miles of stream, and restore 37 acres of riparian forest. The project is located on private property at the confluence of South Fork and Ferguson Creek in the Long Tom Watershed west of Junction City. The Ferguson Creek sub-watershed has been a priority area for instream and floodplain restoration for LTWC for 25 years, and is a priority for wetland and oak habitat restoration. The 275-acre property features 2.5 miles of stream, mature open grown Oregon white oaks, intact mature riparian forest, and is protected by a conservation easement held by McKenzie River Trust. Partners include the landowner, Ducks Unlimited, USFWS, OWEB, and MRT.

Project Abstract:

Our project area is upstream of the confluence of Ochoco and Marks Creeks in the Upper Ochoco Watershed. This application seeks funding to complete the design process and implement improved passage at 2 irrigation withdrawal sites on Ochoco Creek, adding a fish screen at one of them. OWEB and other partners have invested significant funding to plan and implement fish passage projects that complement the current application, including an OWEB Technical Assistance grant which produced 60% designs for the project. An OWEB restoration grant has already been secured to provide match and to address 4 additional irrigation withdrawals and a very large perched culvert. When combined PFA and OWEB funds will improve passage and screening at 7 sites, providing access to an additional 21.6 miles of habitat where fish passage and screening have been previously addressed. This project is the next logical step in improving conditions for native migratory fish in the Upper Ochoco Watershed.

Project Abstract:

This project will design the removal of five tide gates, Muted Tidal Regulators on Gallagher and Pye Sloughs, and restore tidal wetland habitat along both sloughs. This area was predominantly tidal salt marsh with some tidal forested wetlands at the upper extent of the area. Currently the tide gates are complete barriers to salmonid migration into Gallagher Slough. The tide gates also prevent flooding in the landscape surrounding these sloughs, disrupting natural cycles of nutrient exchange and carbon sequestration and further limiting aquatic organism access to seasonal flooded areas. This project will contribute to the reconnection of tidal wetlands identified as a priority in the Nehalem Strategic Action Plan for coho salmon. The project will provide fish passage to the largest slough complex in the Nehalem Estuary including at least 500 acres of tidal rearing habitat for fall Chinook salmon, coho salmon, winter steelhead and an additional 12 miles of spawning and rearing habitat.

Project Abstract:

The Harliss Creek Fish Passage Project will replace an existing complete barrier to fish passage with a fish passable, multi-plate, bottomless, steel arch culvert. The new culvert will be 30.5 feet wide, 131.5 feet long, and will provide access to at least 1.25 miles of coho spawning and rearing habitat. The new culvert will facilitate passage for other anadromous species (chinook, steelhead, coastal cutthroat, pacific lamprey) as well as sediment and wood transport. This project will place instream wood structures downstream of the culvert in Harliss Creek. Harliss Creek is a tributary to Cook Creek which is tributary to the Nehalem River in Tillamook County. The culvert is located under Cook Creek Road in the Tillamook State Forest and owned by the Oregon Department of Forestry. This crossing is used for access to timber land and recreation including camping sites, fishing, hiking, dirt biking, and more.

Project Abstract:

The Herb Creek Project will replace two underperforming culverts with a single precast concrete bridge to improve infrastructure resilience and restore natural stream function within the Smith River watershed. The existing culverts constrain flow, impair sediment transport, and limit adult and juvenile fish passage. The proposed bridge will restore full aquatic organism passage, reduce flood risk, and enhance long-term reliability of an important transportation route serving both Bureau of Land Management–managed and privately managed timberlands. By improving stream connectivity and channel processes, the project will increase spawning and rearing habitat for endangered Oregon Coast coho salmon. The project builds on the Smith River Watershed Council’s demonstrated capacity and ongoing, watershed-scale restoration efforts within the subbasin.

Project Abstract:

The Kelly Creek Dam Removal and Restoration Project on the Mt Hood Community College campus will leverage 20 years of Beaver Creek habitat improvements to improve conditions for HCP salmonid species. Project elements include dam removal, creek restoration, reducing pollutant loading from stormwater, and more, to address Lower Columbia River Chinook, coho, chum salmon and steelhead trout limiting factors. The project will 1) restore 4 miles of rearing and spawning habitat for coho, steelhead, and other native fish species; 2) significantly decrease stream temperatures that reach lethal temperatures in the dam impoundment and contribute 50% of Beaver Creek’s summer baseflow; 3) restore up to 5 acres of riparian vegetation and floodplain habitat; and provide educational opportunities and a space for the community to reconnect with a valued resource in a publicly accessible campus. The proposed planning project will support project design and permitting.

Project Abstract:

Lally Creek Fish Passage Improvement will replace the failing, perched culvert under South Myrtle Road with an Aquatic Organism Passage structure, reopening approximately 1.7 miles of Flowing Water and Riparian Habitats. It advances Private Forest Accord priorities by restoring connectivity, reducing chronic road-stream impacts, and benefiting HCP-covered species, including Oregon Coast coho, winter steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, and stream amphibians such as coastal giant salamanders and tailed frogs. Lally Creek is located in the Myrtle Creek subwatershed, connected to the South Fork Umpqua River & Tributaries Conservation Opportunity Area. Urgent action is required as NOAA’s latest 5-Year Review emphasizes ongoing viability concerns for Oregon Coast coho, including low abundance and reduced spatial diversity. Removing this barrier reconnects cold, forested headwaters that support diverse life histories and climate resilience. Partners include PUR, Douglas County, BLM, and RDG.

Project Abstract:

Over time Muddy Creek has been declining to the point that segments of the creek are no longer within proper functioning condition (PFC) according to a BLM IDT (Bureau of Land Management Interdisciplinary Team). Photographs over the years clearly demonstrate this decline by the stream and riparian health/condition. This project has been designed to restore channel complexity and floodplain connectivity to historic conditions. By restoring this area, native redband trout will be able to utilize the stream more effectively as passage to the Malheur River. The project serves as a proof of concept and will focus on one segment of the creek that is not currently meeting proper functioning conditions.

Project Abstract:

The Oat Creek Stream Habitat Restoration Project is a large wood placement project aimed at increasing instream habitat complexity while slowing stream velocities to aggrade gravels necessary for spawning and rearing habitat for ESA-listed Oregon Coast Coho salmon and other native salmonids and fish. This project also proposes to address juvenile fish passage barriers that have resulted from past restoration efforts by making adjustments to legacy boulder weirs.

Project Abstract:

Ochoco Preserve (Preserve) is a 185 acre parcel adjacent to the western urban growth boundary of the City of Prineville. It comprises the confluence of the Crooked River with major tributaries, McKay Creek and Ochoco Creek. This Phase 3 project will restore aquatic habitats, floodplain, and uplands across the final 40 acres of Ochoco Preserve. Phases 1 and 2, completed in 2022 and 2024, were composed of similar restoration actions. Restoration work on the property was originally conceived by ODFW in 2017 due to a shortage of anadromous spawning and rearing habitats along this vital reach of the Crooked River. Proposed actions will address habitat limiting factors for HCP-covered species and other native flora and fauna. Proposed work includes creating 0.5 miles of new Crooked River main channel, 15 acres of new floodplain, 6 acres of new wetlands, and installing 17 instream woody structures to boost physical and biological stream and floodplain processes.

Project Abstract:

Through a partnership with ODFW, this project would enhance streamflow in 15 miles of Deer Creek, tributary of Illinois River near Selma, Josephine County. Deer Cr is one of the priority watersheds for flow restoration for ODFW because de-watering due to irrigation has reduced habitat quality and quantity for ESA-listed SONCC Coho Salmon, fall Chinook Salmon, steelhead trout, cutthroat trout, and Pacific Lamprey and it is a primary limiting factor. This project would create a permanent, senior instream water right (0.735 cfs, 1/3 of streamflow) that would meet 21% of the flow target through the Allocation of Conserved Water Program by converting 138.7 acres from wheel lines and handlines to pivot system. Oxbow Ranch installed fish screen and 5500-ft pipe from the diversion to the property. Current onfarm irrigation system limits production. Project partners are ODFW, OWRD, IVSWCD, BLM, & USFS. This project complements numerous watershed restoration projects and current ODA SIA.

Project Abstract:

The Palouse basin has an extensive area of very low elevation floodplain that was historically high-quality tidal marshland accessible year-round for salmonids; however, significant anthropogenic changes throughout lower Palouse have disconnected these essential floodplain habitats from functional use throughout all seasons. The Palouse Subbasin Habitat Complexity and Connectivity Project integrates three projects in the lower Palouse basin to holistically improve the availability and quality of critical tidal and freshwater rearing habitat, expanding the benefits of the recently upgraded primary tide gate on Palouse Slough. This project captures a holistic restoration approach to improve system hydrologic function throughout the whole basin and promote working landscapes that benefit both the ecosystem and landowners by improving fish passage, instream habitat complexity, water quality, floodplain connectivity, and pasture function on multiple parcels in the lower Palouse subbasin.

Project Abstract:

Phase 2 of the Bull Run Meadows Restoration Project will restore 2.2 stream miles in the Bull Run Creek headwaters, in the NF John Day Basin. When combined with Phase 1, the full project will restore 4.7 miles of stream. The project is located in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest near the town of Granite. The site is designated as a high priority for restoration by several prioritization plans and assessments.

Historic land uses dramatically degraded and reduced habitat for native species in Bull Run Creek. The project goal is to re-establish a connected river-wetland corridor at Bull Run Meadows, restore floodplain hydrology and function, enhance climate resilience, and encourage natural processes for a biodiverse community of species, including HCP-listed Redband trout, HCP and ESA-listed Mid-Columbia steelhead trout in the project area, and priority populations downstream such as HCP-listed Chinook salmon, HCP- listed Mountain whitefish, and HCP and ESA-listed bull trout.

Project Abstract:

The Restore Sisnímmexs – Zone 4 Project (located within the 5.5-mile Chesnimnus Creek Ranch property) is part of a multi-phased, multi-property, and multi-agency effort spanning approximately 15 miles of contiguous stream on both private and federal lands. This application proposes to implement a holistic and process-based floodplain restoration design benefitting ESA listed steelhead on private land within Chesnimnus Creek. Legacy anthropogenic impacts within the Joseph Creek watershed have resulted in various life stage impairments to ESA listed Snake River summer steelhead and native rainbow/redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and Pacific Lamprey, of which this project aims to improve through a suite of priority restoration actions. In addition to the Nez Perce Tribe, the Grande Ronde Model Watershed (GRMW), landowners, project funders, and other restoration partners will be instrumental in the successful completion of this extensive landscape scale restoration effort.

Project Abstract:

This project’s primary goal is to improve fish access (~9.5 miles), rearing potential (~2.5 miles), winter refugia (~2.1 miles), riparian habitat (~6.5 acres), stream channel complexity (~40 LWD sites), water quality (sediment/bacteria/stream temperature) and flood conveyance (9 upgraded crossings) in the Catching Creek sub-basin. While restoring this ~100-acre lowland Ag parcel we will strive to balance ecological uplift while maintaining working lands objectives. The key habitat limiting factors that we will address are fish passage, instream complexity, access to off channel habitat and riparian planting that will support seasonal rearing (limiting factor) in the Catching Slough sub-basin. PFA funds will be used for project management, contracted services, plant establishment, project materials, and indirect costs. The County Road Department, Landowner, OWEB and ODFW will provide match contributions for contracted services/labor, project supplies/materials, and technical assistance.

Project Abstract:

The City of Port Orford has since the 1990's embarked on an effort to protect their 629 acre Drinking Water Source Area (DWSA), North Fork Hubbard Creek, from land use activities that lead to excessive sedimentation to their drinking water intake. Prior to 2000 the City only owned 40 acres of the DWSA around the intake reservoir. Logging activities on the private properties upstream of the intake led to landslides and severe erosion that greatly impacted the City's ability to provide drinking water. The City began to buy (400+acres) as much of the remaining watershed as possible in order to self-manage the forest for water quality. This project seeks to vacate a failing stream crossing on a fish bearing stream and abandon the road. The crossing is a legacy of past logging activities, and is in danger of imminent collapse. The crossing fill is significant, 1,500 cy, and the City is limited financially to remedy it on their own. March storms in 2025 accelerated the fill/culvert collapse.

Project Abstract:

This project will restore approximately 2 miles of the West Fork of Trail Creek in Trail, Oregon, by installing large wood structures to re-establish natural stream processes, increase channel and floodplain complexity, and improve habitat for Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed Southern Oregon Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and steelhead. Located between completed downstream restoration and planned upstream fish passage improvements, the project will create a continuous cold-water corridor. Treatments will address channel simplification, limited bed substrate, and reduced floodplain connectivity by slowing flows, promoting gravel retention, activating side channels, enhancing hyporheic exchange, and improving thermal resilience. The project supports regional conservation priorities and strengthens climate resilience for salmonids and other native species.