Restoring a river channel

This new river loop to the left will flow back into the existing channel of the Wallowa River on the right after the restoration has been completed. - Photo/RON OSTERLOH

A project that began as an idea nearly 10 years ago and has been in process since last November will be taking giant steps toward completion next week on a stretch of the river on land owned by Craig and Liza Jane Nichols of the 6-Ranch.

A section of the river that was straightened in the past to accommodate humans and their industries is being restored to a more natural state through the cooperation of the landowners, Grande Ronde Model Watershed, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, the Nez Perce and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla.

“The ranch was acquired in 1884 and has never changed hands. We have a picture of this old ranch house located here on the highway in 1904 and the river was where Highway 82 is now,” Craig Nichols said.

The river is approximately 200 feet south of the highway, beyond the railroad tracks and cannot be seen from the house.

Bill Knox, a biologist with the ODFW, recalled that the Nichols came to him in 1998 with questions about how they could restore the more natural channels to the river.

“We knew we couldn’t get it back to its totally natural state, but there were some possibilities,’’ said Knox. “The downside is it’s expensive, but humans have ‘tidied up’  this river, made it more convenient for their fields and the result is reduction in fish habitat.”

According to Coby Menton of Joseph, monitoring coordinator for the Grande Ronde Model Watershed, funding for this and similar projects comes mainly from two sources: Bonneville Power Administration ratepayer dollars, which are administered by the GRMW, and through the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, which receives lottery funds, also administered by the GRMW. These public funds are supplemented by donations from the Jubitz Foundation and an anonymous donor.

Once it was determined that restoration of this stretch of the Wallowa River would improve fish habitat, the engineering firm of Anderson-Perry of La Grande was hired to do a topographical survey. The Anderson-Perry engineers then figured out how the river should look in that area within the constraints of the existing infrastructure. A cabin is situated near the river. The railroad tracks and the major highway route in and out of Wallowa County run parallel to the river here.

Another of the constraints of the project is the “instream work window,” according to Knox. There is a short time period when work on the streambed can be accomplished between July 1 and Aug. 15 that will minimize the impact on the eggs in the bed of the stream in the fall.

According to Chas Hutchins, engineer for Anderson-Perry, a survey of a stable meander of the river was done and the specifications of the size and geometry of that meander was brought to this project. The restored river channel incorporates five short sections of the old channel that flow in and out of the existing channel. Out-of-stream work began in November and is continuing toward completion.

Another aspect of the restoration project is the salvaging of the fish impacted by the alteration of the existing river channel. The Wallowa River 6-Ranch salvage will be a collaborative effort to remove fish from the “old” Wallowa River channel and the “new” Wallowa River channel. The 6-Ranch restoration project site incorporates short sections of the old channel, thus dividing the restoration site into five separate reaches that require salvage efforts.

On Wednesday the downstream end of all five “new” loops was opened.

At the upstream end of the project site, Wallowa River flow will be diverted into the new channel, reducing the amount of flow in the old channel. Flow is being stabilized at shin-deep levels Thursday and Friday, allowing fish to move downstream out of the old channels over the Fourth of July weekend. Many of the fish within the old channel will be expected to move downstream out of the project area prior to the fish salvage effort, according to information provided by the Grande Ronde Model Watershed.

The majority of the salvage effort will take place Monday through Wednesday. Two sections will be salvaged per day, working from upstream down, leaving the most downstream section for Wednesday morning.

Each section to be salvaged will be isolated from Wallowa River flow by placing berms at the upstream, downstream or both ends of each old channel reach. Block nets will be employed in the salvage reach as necessary, according to GRMW Coordinator Menton.

Within each reach, an ODFW crew will administer a mild electric shock into the water to temporarily slow the remaining fish. The crews will then use dip nets and seines to collect as many fish as possible in four downstream passes. Captured fish will be held in aerated five-gallon buckets, placed in aerated coolers and transported to a processing station near Sunrise Road by staff of the Nez Perce Tribal Fisheries under the direction of Jim Harbeck.

At the processing station, fish will be identified and numbered.

Weight, length, age and species will be recorded on a sample of the fish population. A scale sample as well as weight, length and age will be taken on a subset of Chinook salmon, O.mykiss and mountain whitefish by ODFW staff. Knox said a less than 5 percent mortality rate is expected.

“The short-term loss offsets the long-term gain we will accomplish with the creation of more total length of stream with the development of a mix of healthy fish habitats over time,” said Knox.

According to Menton, maturation of the project area is expected to develop over a period of at least 10 years. A restoration project takes years to effect change and might require limiting cattle access to the stream

through fencing, and it can take several years to achieve streambank stability and stream shading. The Nichols have agreed to restrict grazing of the 17-acre area for 10 years.

“We may or may not return the area to grazing. Right now, we’re thinking it probably won’t be grazed again. We may do some fencing to protect the trees and shrubs, they get the most damage,” said Nichols.

According to Menton, who will conduct the monitoring of the project, extensive “before” photo points were obtained that circumnavigate the project. Photos will continue to be taken throughout the completion of the out-of-channel construction work and throughout the maturation of the project area. A survey of the gradient of the existing channel and the new channel has been obtained to track the longitudinal behavior of the river, Menton said. Cross sections of the channel have also been taken and will be repeated every five years to monitor the continuing natural processes that will follow the completion of the restoration.

The GRMW website explains the organization’s role in such projects.

“The Grande Ronde Model Watershed is the primary organization dedicated to coordinating habitat restoration on private and public lands in the Grande Ronde Basin,’’ it says. “It serves as an example for establishing watershed management partnerships among local residents, state and federal agencies and public interest groups.

The Wallowa River 6-Ranch Restoration and Fish Salvage Project represents a team effort involving the Grande Ronde Model Watershed, Anderson-Perry, local contractor LD Perry, ODFW, landowner Craig Nichols, USFS, the Nez Perce and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and many volunteers. Representatives of some of these organizations — Coby Menton, Chas Hutchins, Derek Spang, Jeff Oveson, Coy Riggs, Bill Knox and Craig Nichols — gathered at the restoration site to continue preparations for the salvage operations to begin Monday. - Photo/JOYCE OSTERLOH

The model watershed has been instrumental in several projects in Wallowa County including the Imnaha Parks Ditch Water Conservation project completed in 2002. A 3 1/2-mile earthen ditch used to irrigate 200 acres of land was replaced by 4 1/2 miles of PVC pipe, a flow meter, headgate and drop box.

The headgate and pipeline allow irrigators to stop diversion of river flow for short periods of time, like during haying, further increasing water remaining in the river. The project provided a more efficient delivery system for water diverted from the Imnaha River.

Crop yields improved, irrigation labor was reduced and increased streamflow benefited chinook and steelhead runs.

Another project, the Wallowa River-McDaniel Habitat Restoration completed in 2005, focused on enhancement and restoration of wetland meadow, water storage capacity and instream aquatic habitat on the Doug McDaniel property near Lostine. Results of this project were evident when adult chinook and steelhead used the newly created habitat the first year water was transferred into a new stream channel, according to information provided by the GRMW.

Craig Nichols said the success of the McDaniel project was the inspiration for him and his family to pursue the restoration of the Wallowa River on their property.