stream and floodplain restoration

clear branch creek, oregon

Assisting the USFS Hood River Ranger District, Inter-Fluve provided design and construction oversight for a comprehensive riparian and in-stream restoration project within a degraded and incised one-mile reach of Clear Branch Creek. The overall goal of the project was to improve stream and riparian area function and increase the amount of suitable spawning and rearing habitat for resident bull trout, considered the last “self sustaining” population within the Mt. Hood National Forest. The project was divided into three separate, but related, subprojects. The first involved re-establishing flow into a historical stream channel running through the only remaining old growth forest. The channel was previously abandoned due to floodplain logging, debris jam, channel avulsion and incision adjacent to a valley bottom road. Subproject 2 was the restoration of a rock quarry and access road by importing large wood and organic material followed by intensive replanting to begin the processes that will restore the area to a fully functioning riparian/wetland complex over time. Subproject 3 involved the placement of 65 whole trees and 450 logs along a half mile of stream and adjacent valley bottom using heavy lift helicopters. The entire valley bottom was treated with large wood, emulating the development of floodplain roughness approaching that of a fully developed forested valley bottom. Approximately 200,000 board-feet of imported whole trees and logs were used to implement all aspects of the work. In recognition of its innovative design and distinguished leadership by members of the Hood River Ranger District, the project received a Pacific Northwest Forest Regional Fisheries Program Award in April 2002.

More photos...

Project Owner

Mount Hood National Forest
Hood River Ranger District
Mount Hood, Oregon

Project Elements

Design and Construction oversight services

Hydrologic/Hydraulic analyses

Sediment transport analysis

Geomorphic analysis

Large woody debris

Fish habitat creation and restoration

Riparian restoration