gee creek watershed restoration - WSU Clark County Extension ...

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• High sediment transport levels• Lack of suitable spawning gravel• Low amounts of available cover and input of Large Woody Debris (LWD)2000 – Washington State Conservation Commission (WSCC) report does not list Geecreek as a priority for salmon recovery: 58• 6 of 7 limiting factors are ranked poor condition• Low summer/early fall flow is significant limiting factor26, 47,572001 – Arwana farms manure spill occurs between Carty Road and Royle Road:• Fish and other aquatic life decimated “below Royle road”. 47 [No WDFW sourceor citation listed for numbers reported]• Landowners downstream report fish kill. 572003 - StreamFix assessment of lower reach identifies 8 specific conditions: 47• Temperature, chemicals, and flow problems via stormwater runoff from increaseddevelopment in upper watershed• Erosion and sediment loading (3) - Pioneer to Heron Drive reach landslides;Pioneer St. to Royle Rd. banks; unstable bank upper reach (station 38.00).• Knotweed along creek• Livestock access limiting riparian growth near 15 th St. Bridge• Culvert barriers near Bertsinger Road• Biologic features need periodic assessment• In-stream structures (LWD)In addition, the report notes the channel along the Pioneer St. to Heron Drive reachappears to have been artificially straightened. The report further identifies theAbrams Park vicinity reach to have the greatest stability problem in the assessmentarea.2004 – USFWS/U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Gee Creek Restoration Project reportregarding salmonid habitat on Carty Unit identifies: 50• Sediment barrier at mouth• Channel disconnection/aggradation2004 – Clark County Water Resources Program (CCWRP) Stream Health Report ranksthe creek condition as poor due to combined effects of urbanization and farming: 14• Fecal bacteria• Water chemistry including temperature• Stream insects• Ponds created by dams in watershed can be a source of temperature and qualityproblems2005 – Whipple Creek Assessment identifies conditions on a sister stream similar to GeeCreek and documents 300 features needing improvement: 1534
• Degradation not limited to developing areas – impacts are clearly present in ruralareas due to historical clearing of forest for agriculture, roads, and timber harvest• Stormwater outfalls and stream crossings• Erosional features- stream scour and incision common, floodplain disconnection• Fine sediment accumulation common• Riparian conditions mixed – some ample widths but much invasive plant speciespresence (particularly blackberries) in the corridor and forest buffer areas.• Impacted stream buffers – invasive plant removal and bank revegetation needed• Channel modifications• Trash and debris sites• Altered hydrology has caused channel impacts• Beaver dams important for storing sediment load2006 - USFWS Cutthroat Study summary 2002-2005 sampled fish from reaches aboveRefuge: 28,56• Cutthroat numbers low - no tagged fish found above refuge• Lots of warmwater fish as predators – unusual situation compared to otherstreams studied.Past Restoration RecommendationsPast restoration recommendations from agency and private technical experts for the GeeCreek watershed are listed below. Although much restoration work has beenaccomplished, particularly by the Gee Creek Enhancement Committee and partneragencies from 1994-2000 and surveys by the USFWS since 2000, little specificinformation was found in the records which documented or mapped details of thelocation or current status of most past activities.1985 – USFWS Fisheries Assistance Office Literature Review: 7• No temperature or water quality data found for Gee Creek within the Refuge• “Lower Gee Creek should be thoroughly surveyed to ascertain its potentialimportance to cutthroat trout and salmon."1994 - Gee Creek Watershed Enhancement Committee priorities: 26• Streamside planting of trees and shrubs• Exclude livestock from creek• Monitor water quality• Outreach and education for best management practices1996 – WDFW Damage Survey Report re Abrams Park landslide: 61a• Slide should be left as-is. Plant toe of slide with willow shrubs.1996 – Inter-Fluve Report: 30• Stream grade control and bank stabilization (erosion)35
Page 1 and 2: GEE CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATIONBACK
Page 6 and 7: Location and Environmental SettingG
Page 8 and 9: Fig.3. Gee Creek watershed topograp
Page 10 and 11: Fig.5. Gee Creek channel soon after
Page 12 and 13: Land Use HistoryThere is more histo
Page 14 and 15: undergrowth”(Fig.15). A second an
Page 16 and 17: Fig. 10b. Concrete wall deflecting
Page 18 and 19: Fig.14. 1854 Cadastral Survey Map (
Page 20 and 21: 2005. 12,38 Recent housing developm
Page 22 and 23: Salmon and Trout Use HistoryLittle
Page 26 and 27: 1997 - Washington Trout conducts a
Page 28 and 29: ############# ##Fig. 21. Juvenile c
Page 30 and 31: • Coordinated Hansen Farm livesto
Page 32 and 33: In 2005, USFWS RNWR created a parti
Page 36 and 37: • Stormwater detention and infilt
Page 38 and 39: General Clark County stream health
Page 40 and 41: • 2005 Sediment from Heron Ridge
Page 42 and 43: References1. Ames, Kenneth, Portlan
Page 44 and 45: 24. Ecklund, Alan. 1998. USFWS CRFP
Page 46 and 47: 45a. Snoey, Paul. 2005. Ridgefield,
Page 48 and 49: 66. Wisseman, Robert. c.1995. Aquat
Page 50 and 51: 1825?-1854 Fur trading trail from F
Page 52 and 53: 1879 Nonnative carp make their way
Page 54 and 55: 1911 First shingle mill in Ridgefie
Page 56 and 57: 1940-1960 Reed canary-grass planted
Page 58 and 59: 1960’s-1970’sBridge taken out a
Page 60 and 61: 1995-1997;2000Approximately 3000 de
Page 62 and 63: Apr-97Sediment event from majorland
Page 64 and 65: January 19,2000Salmonid limiting fa
Page 66 and 67: 2001-2006 Gee Creek EnhancementComm
Page 68 and 69: 2004 Trees bucked into Gee Creek to
Page 70 and 71: Dec 2004Ridgefield comprehensive pl
Page 72 and 73: Jul-05USFWS NWR-CRFPO workshopheld

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