Almeda Private Lands Fire Response

When: In progress (2021)
Where: Bear Creek (a major tributary of the Rogue River) and several of its key tributaries

Objective: A streamside post-fire recovery project to improve water quality and re-establish native vegetation

In September 2020, the Almeda Fire burned through the Bear Creek watershed devastating the communities of Phoenix and Talent, as well as the streamside forests of Bear Creek and many of its tributaries. This resulted in severe water quality concerns, including threats to the supply for downstream drinking water providers and for the riparian and … Read more »

Bear Creek Water Improvement Project – Blue Heron Park

When: In progress (2021)
Where: Bear Creek at Blue Heron Park, Phoenix

Objective: A streamside restoration project to improve water quality, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, increase native plant diversity, control invasive plants, reduce fire risk, and improve stormwater retention and treatment

Bear Creek’s water quality is ranked poor by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It is water quality limited for phosphorous, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and fecal coliform. Stormwater runoff from nearby roads, urbanized areas, and agricultural fields transport trash and debris, motor oils and grease, metals, pesticides, fertilizers, and bacteria directly and indirectly into the … Read more »

Kitchen Creek Riparian Restoration Project

When: In progress (2021)
Where: Kitchen Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek, running east to southwest off Grizzly Peak

Objective: A streamside restoration project to improve water quality, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, increase native plant diversity, control invasive plants, and reduce fire risk

Kitchen Creek is a perennial stream classified as fish-bearing and identified as a “riparian corridor” in the City of Ashland. A substantial length of the urban portion of this creek runs through the 20-plus-acre Mountain Meadows retirement community. At this site, vegetated riparian areas are generally narrow in width and dominated by non-native invasive species … Read more »

Neil Creek Agricultural Water Quality Improvement Project

When: Completed 2020
Where: Neil Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek

Objective: An on-farm project to improve water quality by reducing sediment, bacteria, nutrients, and high-temperature runoff resulting from land management practices

Land management practices on agricultural properties along Neil Creek have had deleterious effects on water quality in the creek. Rogue River Watershed Council partnered with the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District to address such practices on one local horse rescue/sanctuary property. Conditions contributing to poor water quality at this site included bare ground, lack … Read more »

Salt Creek at River Mile 3.5

When: Completed 2020
Where: Salt Creek, a tributary of Little Butte Creek

Objective: A dam removal and large-wood placement project to improve fish passage, open up additional spawning habitat, improve juvenile fish survival, and improve the control of irrigation water diversion

Salt Creek is a small stream that meets Little Butte Creek near the community of Lake Creek. Despite its size, it maintains a steady flow of cool water throughout the summer, making it a very good place for cold-water fish like trout and salmon to rear. Unfortunately, nine diversion dams interrupt fish movement along roughly … Read more »

Elk Creek River Mile 5.6

When: Completed in 2020
Where: Elk Creek, a major tributary of the upper Rogue River

Objective: An in-stream and stream-side restoration project to improve water quality, enhance fish habitat, and increase native plant diversity

Historic management activities in the area behind the now-incomplete Elk Creek Dam have resulted in largescale modifications to Elk Creek’s mainstem channel and its side-channels, floodplain, and tributaries. Streams had been channelized, large wood had been removed from the active stream channel, riparian forests had been cleared, and riparian areas had been heavily grazed by … Read more »

Aunt Caroline’s Park Riparian Restoration

When: Completed 2020
Where: Aunt Caroline's Park, Shady Cove

Objective: A stream-side forest restoration project to improve water quality, increase native plant diversity, and increase community awareness of the importance of urban riparian areas

Indian Creek traces the northern boundary of Aunt Caroline’s Park, a 3.7-acre urban park located in the City of Shady Cove. The community regards Aunt Caroline’s Park as a valuable and beloved feature of the city, yet the stream corridor running along the park was suffering from long-term effects of urbanization. The creek had become … Read more »

Smith-Myer-Roper Fish Passage Improvement

When: Completed 2020
Where: Ashland Creek Park, Ashland

Objective: A dam removal project to improve fish passage, open up additional spawning habitat, improve juvenile fish survival, and improve the control of irrigation water diversion

The Smith-Myer-Roper diversion dam presented a major migration impediment for Coho Salmon and Rainbow Trout/steelhead in Ashland Creek, which has the coolest water in the entire Bear Creek watershed. This 2.5-foot-high concrete structure made it difficult for adult fish to reach two miles of valuable spawning habitat, and presented a complete barrier to juvenile fish … Read more »

Little Butte Creek Floodplain Rehabilitation

When: Completed 2019
Where: Little Butte Creek, a major tributary of the Rogue River

Objective: An in-stream and stream-side restoration project to improve water quality, enhance fish habitat, and increase native plant diversity

Little Butte Creek contributes to the seasonal drinking water supply of over 136,000 Rogue valley residents. It is also a priority stream for the recovery of threatened Coho Salmon. Unfortunately, due to land management practices, erosion is high, water quality is low, and Coho Salmon habitat is limited. To alleviate erosion, the steep banks were … Read more »

Wagner Creek Water Quality Improvement Project

When: Completed 2018
Where: Wagner Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek

Objective: A stream-side forest restoration project to improve water quality and increase native plant diversity

The Wagner Creek valley is a highly productive agricultural area that is rapidly being converted from orchards to small-acreage rural residential agriculture. Some management practices have produced conditions (narrow strips of native riparian vegetation, extensive areas of Himalayan blackberries, bare ground, manure concentration) that have reduced water quality and degraded fish habitat in Wagner Creek. … Read more »