Biodiversity Guide - The Intertwine

egional conservation strategybiodiversity guideAppendix I Watershedsn The Lower Columbia River Fish EnhancementGroup — www.lcfeg.org/n Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards — http://www.refugestewards.org/n Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership —http://www.lcrep.org/n Columbia Land Trust — www.columbialandtrust.org/Active restoration and enhancement partners inthe City of Washougal and the Columbia Riverinclude:Clark County ESA ProgramContact: Joel RupleyP.O. Box 9810, Vancouver WA 98666-9810360-397-2022joel.rupley@clark.wa.govwww.co.clark.wa.us/esa/index.htmlGifford Pinchot Task ForceContact: David JenningsP.O. Box 87542, Vancouver, WA 98687360-866-7551www.gptaskforce.orgLower Columbia Fish Enhancement GroupContact: Tony Meyer12404 SE Evergreen HighwayVancouver, WA 98668-5471360-882-6671tony@lcfeg.org, www.lcfeg.orgLower Columbia Salmon Recovery andWatershed Management(includes partner organization contacts)Contact: Bernadette Graham Hudson2127 8th Ave., Longview, WA 98632360-425-1552www.lowercolumbiasalmonrecovery.orgFriends of the Columbia GorgeContact: Rick Till522 SW 5th, Suite 720Portland, OR 97206503-241-3762 ext. 107rick@gorgefriends.orgwww.gorgefriends.orgU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceRidgefield National Wildlife Refuge ComplexP.O. Box 457, Ridgefield, WA, 9864228908 NW Main AvenueRidgefield, WA, 98642Phone: (360) 887-4106Fax: (360) 887-4109Washington Department of Natural ResourcesContact: Carlo AbbruzzesePO Box 280Castle Rock, WA 98611(360) 575-5056CARLO.ABBRUZZESE@dnr.wa.govWatershed Plans, Assessments, and Reports —City of Washougal and Columbia Rivern Columbia River Gorge National Scenic AreaVital Signs Indicators Projecthttp://gorgevitalsigns.org/n Lewis, Salmon-Washougal Watershed Plan[includes some planning for lower Gorgetributaries] (WRIA 27/28)www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/wrias/Planning/27-28.htmln Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish& Wildlife Subbasin Plan, Volume II: WashougalRiver, Lower Gorge Tributaries (2010)http://www.lcfrb.gen.wa.usn Management Plan for the Columbia RiverGorge National Scenic Area http://www.gorgecommission.org/managementplan.cfmn Northwest Power Planning Council. 2004.http://www.nwcouncil.org/n U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region10. 2009. Columbia River Basin: State of the Riverreport for toxinshttp://www.epa.gov/columbiariver/n Washington Department of Ecology –Washougal River and Gibbons Creek, TMDL,water quality data and projects, surface-groundwaterinteractions along the mainstem, livestockreport and other informationhttp://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/TMDLsbyWria/tmdl-wria28.htmlOVERVIEWn Washington DNR Columbia Falls Natural AreaPreserve www.dnr.wa.gov/ABOUTDNR/MAN-AGEDLANDS/Pages/amp_na_columbia_falls.aspxn Washington State Department of Fish andWildlife 2011-2017 Strategic Plan www.wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00971/wdfw00971.pdfUnderstanding the Willamette River WatershedTravis Williams, Willamette RiverkeeperThe Willamette River is a defining natural feature of the Portland metropolitan portion of the greaterPortland-Vancouver region. As the final receiver of water from the surrounding landscape, theWillamette reflects what is happening around it. Over the decades the Willamette has been subjectto a variety of impacts, especially conversion of the landscape to housing, industry, and agriculture.Today, efforts to reverse some of the negative effects on the river focus on improving water quality andenhancing natural habitat for a range of native species.The Willamette River drains the Willamette Basin, which comprises 11,460 square miles betweenthe Coast Range and the Cascades. This area encompasses the cities of Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis,Albany, Salem, and Portland and is home to nearly 70 percent of Oregon’s population. The mainstemWillamette is formed by the confluence of the Coast Fork Willamette and Middle Fork Willamettetributaries east of Eugene and flows 187 miles to its confluence with the Columbia River in Portland,incorporating 12 major tributaries along the way. The Willamette’s lower 36 miles, from its confluencewith the Molalla River downstream to the Columbia, are within the greater Portland-Vancouverregion.From its southern extent near Eugene, the river flows south to north through farmland, parks,floodplain forest, wetlands, oak habitats, and native prairie. The river also flows past multiple cities thathave used and affected the river in a variety of ways since their founding. As the river weaves its waynorth, the gradient decreases, as does the extent of its historical floodplain. Where it meets the MolallaRiver in the Newberg Pool area, the Willamette has a very low gradient and slow flow. Just upstream ofOregon City the river enters the Willamette Narrows, where it is constrained by basalt bluffs. The onlydam on the mainstem is in Oregon City at RM 26.5; it is operated by Portland General Electric. Farthernorth, the river flows through miles of suburban and urban areas with extensive hardened banks (toprotect homes and businesses) until it reaches its confluence with the Columbia River in North Portland.Flows on the mainstem Willamette are significantly controlled by tributary dams constructed forflood control and water supply. The dams substantially dampen flow dynamics by reducing high flowsand raising low flows. Dams also act as barriers that block native fish migration. Although the mainstemchannel may appear natural in the southern portion of the basin, the floodplain of the river hasbeen dramatically reduced and the river is typically confined to one main channel. This “channelization”of the Willamette goes back many decades and is the result of efforts by farmers and cities toThis section providesan overview of theWillamette Riverwatershed, to providecontext for discussion ofthe watersheds that fallwithin it in the greaterPortland-Vancouverregion: Hayden Island-Columbia River, JohnsonCreek, Salmon Creek-Frontal Columbia River,Scappoose Creek-FrontalColumbia River, WillametteRiver-Frontal ColumbiaRiver, AbernethyCreek-Willamette River,268269