Making habitat for coho salmon fry on the Necanicum

Text and photos By Michael Ellis

This is the area on the Necanicum River that we will be placing the christmas trees to provide habitat for coho salmon fry.

North Coast Site Tour part 3

At the Circle Creek Off Channel Wetland Complex

After visiting Neitzel Farms, we proceeded on to the North Coast Land Conservancy's Circle Creek site. Our chapter provided funds, through a Trout Unlimited Embrace a Stream grant, to design, engineer and and permit this work.  

North Coast Site Tour part 2

Next we went to Neitzel Farms, another Off Channel Wetland Complex (OCWC) that TVTU helped to build and plant. 

At Neitzel Farms, from left: Les Neitzel, Mike Coddington, Robert Williams, Doug Ray, Greg Fritts, Jon Pampush, Erle Norman

North Coast Site Tour

On Wednesday, October 23rd, 7 members of the Tualatin Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited met for a tour of the projects we have been involved in over the years. In attendance were Erle Norman, Jon Pampush, Greg Fritts, Mike Coddington, Robert Williams, Michael Ellis, and the leader of the tour, Doug Ray.

Cedars, bull rushes and sedges getting established

Rested from the Metolius / State Project?

Come out and help - Saturday, November 2!

The Circle Creek EAS Project!

On November 2nd, TVTU will have some hands-on efforts on the new Off Channel Wetland Complex near Seaside.  The Chapter helped fund this Project through the Embrace-a-Stream Program. It is the second such funding effort - and is a continuation of the 2010 work in that area. We need your help!!

Stanley Marsh....growing strong!

Excerpted from an email from Doug Ray - chapter member and man of all things Necanicum - we share the following bits regarding the work at Stanley Marsh/Thompson Creek site near Seaside:

"...I HAVE TO TELL YOU, the really big news too......

Week One of Christmas Tree Ecocycling

Our Christmas Tree collection project went well this week. We collected around 250 trees Saturday between the two locations. That was a lot more than we had arranged transportation for. Bill Schoen stepped up - thanks! - and brought in an additional trailer. Even so, Jeff and I both ended up with a large pile of trees in our yards awaiting transport. Ultimately, we did haul 3-12' trailer loads as well as a 17' u-haul truck full to the Thompson Property on the Necanicum. Two trailer loads went into the newly enlarged off channel wetland area that our chapter helped to fund. Now the habitat is being improved with the addition of the christmas trees.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Andy Andrews and Alan Moore wrestle yet another christmas tree. This pile is destined to "holdover" in my yard.

Jeff Price with a very well packed trailer load of christmas trees.

Christmas trees in the new addition to the Off Channel Wetland Complex.

We have two more weekends of collection this year and still need volunteers to help staff the drop sites and haul trees to the Coast. If you can help out e mail me, Michael Ellis at tvturestoration@gmail.com .

Thanks to everyone who has helped out so far - especially our hosts Joel @ Royal Treatment Fly Fishing and Jack @ Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters.

Upcoming volunteer opporunities

We have several work parties planned for this Fall. The first will be Saturday, October 13th. We will be helping with the construction of the new Off Channel Wetland being added to the existing complex at the Thompson property on the Necanicum. We will be gathering Burreed wilding plugs, cutting bulrush thatch and helping to limb up conifers for placement in the complex. Bring waders,Gloves, Lunch and rain gear. This is a project that is being funded in part with TVTU dollars so come help out and see what we are spending our money on!

(see post below)

For carpooling, we will meet at the Imbrie road Fred Meyer, (22075 NW Imbrie Dr., Hillsboro, OR.), by the can return station at 8 AM. We will leave for the project at 8:15 AM. We can meet up at Klootchy Creek Park around 9:30 and go to Herb's from there. 

Our next work party will be Saturday, November 17th. We will be working at the North Coast Land Conservancies Thompson Creek property preparing for new beaver dams. For carpooling, we will meet at the Imbrie road Fred Meyer, (22075 NW Imbrie Dr., Hillsboro, OR.), by the can return station at 8 AM. We will leave for the project at 8:15 AM. We can meet up at Klootchy Creek Park around 9:30 and go to Thompson creek form there. Bring waders,Gloves, Lunch and rain gear.

Our final project for the year (actually our first of the new year) is an expanded tree collection effort. This year we have two sites to collect trees at. One is Northwest Flyfishing Outfitters at 10910 NE Halsey. The second is Royal Treatment Fly Fishing at 21570 Willamette Dr. in West Linn, Oregon.

We will be collecting trees on January 5th, 12th, and 19th, from 9 AM til 4 PM. We are looking for volunteers to take a shift of 2 to 3 hours each day. This was a pretty fun project last year and we all need an excuse to hang around a fly shop anyway, right? Let me know what days and hours you would like to come and help out.

Looking ahead to next Spring, We will be involved in placing all the trees we will collect. We intend to put more trees in more areas this time and will need more help to do that. I'll let you know when I have more info.

Be sure to let me know if you are interested in attending any of these fine events at TVTURestoration@gmail.com. 

Thanks for all your help.

Sincerely,

Michael Ellis

Conservation Director

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

Progress report on the Thompson off channel wetland project

 Photos and text by Douglas Ray

August 23rd, 2012:

Please find attached a number of photos from today.

Herb is now in his OCWC “Yoda mode “where he more or less levitates and is in deep zen mode while digging, digging, digging and more digging! Kind of a habitat restoration karma aura field where nothing else matters to him except creating the highest function salmonid habitat possible!

It is accurate to say that with him thinking about this for multiple years and using all he/we have learned with the other 2 OCWC he has there ( this as you know has the ultimate goal to expand improve and connect the two not separated OCWC habitats) and Neitzel in the logistics/ sequencing for construction to maximize efficiencies and make the most diverse highest function habitat humanly possible.

 The proximity of the laminar ground water was as close or closer than I had expected, for those who came down for the Course woody material mass placement and walked the proposed expansion site on the tour.

We have significant lateral ground water flow having ONLY removed the upper silts and alluvial cobble to the now as you see in the attached photos the grade of pure alluvial cobble rocks and wood that Herb can now have the excavator walk and sit on without generating turbidity  then begin to excavate a diversity of depths, slopes, contours, and terraces to completely max out the potential micro elevations and establish the very best balance of deep to medium to shallow aquatic habitat depths to help separate by space and depth fry and presmolts in the late spring when there is predation interactions, and allow the greatest possible diversity of elevations for aquatic emergent algae and bio film assemblages for primary production.

Diversity does matter fry and parr use shallow habitats presmolts as they mature and prepare to leave for the ocean concentrate in the deepest areas ( that makes sense after all they are preparing to live in the ocean!) This project provides for all stages of fresh water life history requirements and considers predation interactions between age classes in time and space.

Thank you again for the generous support to provide funding for the diesel, we just today pumped in another 81 gallons of fuel that gives Herb 3 long days of excavating and some for the dump truck as well.

We have immediate need for a restoration work party to collect nearby bulrush seed heads and thatch to use as Best management practices erosion control and to initiate the fringing wetland cells throughout the new OCWC.

Within the week Herb will have completed all the final excavation to create deep pools and diverse depths and place wood and finish the edge of the area in the attached pictures.

I am asking with appreciation in advance, for any TU or Rainlander volunteers to come out for half a day to help collect transport and spread wetland seed and thatch as the final finish to this part of the complex as he moves south as far as he can get until the fall rains begin.

Attached are two pictures of how it was used  @ Neitzel farm project

The other pictures are from today but this area will be fully built out and need treatment as soon as next weekend.

Thank you all advance please share as you see fit with TU chapter and Rainlander club members to see the progress of their incredible generous but fantastic use of their conservation investment to support salmonids and habitat in the Necanicum watershed!

August 31, 2012:

 FYI this is yesterday the nearly complete dig out of the 1st of 3 large

OCWC cells Herb is building on to number 2 this weekend!!7' to 12" with

super diversity of depths all over intentional to max depth diversity for

habitat diversity. The laminar water input is cold enough to give you a

headache if you jumped I will get temps this weekend but likely the classic

49 F ground water temp cold enough to get your attention and so important to

have manifested to provide summer thermal refugia when the mainstem is going

to the mid 60's...

Cheers,

Doug

Placing the trees

from left, back row: Bill Robinson, Doug Ray, Walt Weber, Rod Lundberg, Byron Thompson, Bob May, David Illig, Tom Scoggins, Hunter Thompson, seated: Mike Gentry, Jim Ackerman, Ruger Thompson, Richard Hardy, Herb Thompson, Michael Ellis

On July 14th, TVTU members Mike Gentry, Rod Lundberg Doug Ray and David Illig, joined myself, my friend, Richard Hardy, and members of the Rainland Flycasters to place all the trees we have been collecting this Winter and Spring. The Rainland Flycasters were ably represented by Bill Robinson, Walt Weber, Bob May, Jim Ackerman and Tom Scoggins. The Thompson family contingent consisted of Herb Thompson, Byron Thompson, Hunter Thompson and Ruger Thompson. I apologize if I have inadvertently left anyone out.

A large pile of trees awaits placement

When we arrived, Walt Weber was already in the river taking a population survey of the area we would be covering with the trees. He counted about two dozen fish (fry and a few small cutthroat) in the area we were going to cover. 

we will construct the tree raft along the left bank

Walt Weber surveys the construction zone for fish

Walt Weber and Herb Thompson discuss the survey results

Mike and Rod got to work putting together the pontoon boats while everyone else put together a game plan.

Mike and Rod ready the pontoon fleet

Bob May talks over the anchoring method with the crew

We would tie the trees to a rope and use old milk jugs as floats. With this boom we would outline the slack water area we were going to cover with the trees. The pontoon boats would position and anchor the boom and then fill the middle in with trees. 

We tied the trees to a rope and used milk jugs for floats

The tree line grows

By the time Mike got in the water we were ready to start taking the rope across river.

Mike Gentry pushes off to begin building the tree corral

Mike is ready to grab the line 

Mike pulls the line across the river

Mike grabbed the end of the line and began to row. As more trees were added to the river the current started to have an effect.

more trees were added as the line was pulled across the river

Mike Gentry and Rod Lundberg pull the line down to the tie off point

                          we have the bottom of the line anchored and now are positioning the top end

It took a while to get the boom positioned correctly

                            

it's looking pretty good now

As we filled the boom, we used the current of the river to move the trees

Byron Thompson, Rod Lundgren and Mike Gentry corral and wrangle the trees into the structure

Byron Thompson brings more material to the structure

The completed structuture

Doug Ray points out some fish activity in the newly created habitat

The fish were waiting for this. They started inhabiting the trees as soon as they hit the water

The deed is done!

On Saturday, July 14th, members of the Rainland Flycasters and Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited met to complete our Christmas for Coho project. We created a large raft of trees in a slack water area on the Necanicum River to provide food and cover for the little fishes. They started utilizing the trees even while we were placing them. It was incredible.