Fish habitat improved in Coquille River basin

ROSEBURG, Ore. – All this week, helicopters will be used to put large logs in 16 miles of streams to create fish habitat in the Coquille River basin southeast of Coos Bay. The logs slow the flow of water and cause gravel to settle, creating spawning areas, resting pools, and hiding cover for young fish.

“We’re continuing the work started here two years ago when large wood was put into 20 miles of tributaries to the North Fork Coquille River,” said Jen Feola, fish habitat biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Feola said the North Fork Coquille River project has already improved fish habitat. “The streams have more pieces of large wood, good hiding cover, and more complexity. These are immediate benefits we see from adding large wood to streams,” she said. “We survey the area before and after the project is completed and again in five years. It will be really telling once we get the five-year survey results.”

The current habitat project will benefit coho and chinook salmon, steelhead, searun and resident cutthroat trout, Pacific and brook lamprey, sculpin, crawfish, salamanders and aquatic insects.

“This project is a true partnership between state and federal agencies and private timber companies. Everyone involved recognizes the need to improve habitat for fish and keep our watersheds healthy,” Feola said.

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