Oregon City, Ore. – The Greater Oregon City Watershed Council (GOCWC) is working with local, state, and federal funders to improve habitat for native salmon, trout, and lamprey in the upper reaches of Abernethy creek this week. Working for over two years with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation, Port Blakely, the Oregon Wildlife Foundation and other partners, GOCWC will be restoring nearly 4 miles of the creek through the placement of large wood by helicopter.
“This project has been a priority for our council since 2021.” said Tom Gaskill, executive director of the Greater Oregon City Watershed Council. “We are pleased to be working with our federal and private partners that have provided funding to assist us in restoring this important reach of Abernethy creek for native fish and aquatic life.”
The amount of large wood in the upper Abernethy Creek stream channel is very low due to a history of stream cleaning and timber harvest that reduced conifer levels in the riparian area. The project will increase the amount of large wood contributing to channel structure and complexity in upper Abernethy Creek where spawning and rearing habitat for coho salmon, winter steelhead, and Pacific lamprey will be improved. During two days of construction, nearly 400 logs and bundles of woody structure will be placed via heavy-lift helicopter in strategic locations along 3.93 miles of stream channel. Over 70 jam like structures will be used to create cover over the stream channel to maintain existing pool habitat, sort gravels to improve spawning conditions, and enhance floodplain connectivity.
Pictured left: Native Western brook lamprey (ampetra richardsoni) identified near the project site trough volunteer lamprey surveys November, 2024. Pictured right: Western Pearl shell, an important native freshwater mussel species, photographed by Council staff on Port Blakely property. June, 2025.
Stay tuned for project developments!
