The Lewis River Hydroelectric Projects - PacifiCorp

Merwin Park—Interpretive sign #2 (Natural History)
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Merwin Park
TBD
With Wildlife in Mind
PacifiCorp owns and manages more than 10,000 acres of forest, meadow,
streams, and wetlands around Merwin, Yale, and Swift Reservoirs. These
diverse habitats are home to many species of land animals and birds—
from elk to eagles. Taking care of Lewis River lands so that wildlife can
continue to thrive here is job that PacifiCorp takes very seriously. The
lands are managed according to a carefully-researched plan, designed by
wildlife biologists to sustain diverse and healthy habitat.
In some cases, that means just leaving an area alone (such as leaving
buffer zones along streams, rivers, and shorelines). In other cases, it
means taking a more active approach. As you travel along the Lewis
River, look for evidence of this hands-on style of management with
wildlife in mind.
Sidebar:
PacifiCorp purchased most of the lands around its reservoirs in large
parcels. Because the land was destined to be part of the hydro project,
many sellers logged their properties before selling them to the company,
to get as much out of them as possible. Over time, these logged lands
grew over in dense, dark forest—poor habitat for wildlife. Other sites had
been scoured by construction and were covered with invasive species
such as Scotch broom.
Today, PacifiCorp’s land managers work to actively shape these lands
into places that are more hospitable for wildlife. Some of the techniques
include:
• Creating small clearcuts to allow light into the dark understory,
encouraging grasses and shrubs such as red huckleberry and hazel.
These understory plants are important food and shelter for birds and
mammals.
• Creating snags (standing dead trees). These gray, rotting pillars are
very important habitat for cavity-creating and cavity–nesting birds
such as pileated woodpeckers, and for secondary cavity nesters such
as chickadees and flying squirrels.
• Adding large downed logs (often drift logs from the reservoirs) to
forest floors, to provide nutrients to the soil and seedbeds for young
trees such as western hemlock.
Sidebar
Captions:
During relicensing of the Merwin project in the 1980s, the Merwin
Wildlife Habitat Management Plan was created to help guide land
managers in enhancing habitat, thereby increasing and sustaining
populations of local wildlife.
Appendix 1: panel profiles Lewis River Draft I&E Plan page 13