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Coquille River Watershed | Rogue - Siskiyou National Forest |
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If asked to name the third largest river system in Oregon, the Coquille likely would not spring immediately to mind. Yet the Coquille's 1,059 square miles, tucked into an out-of-the-way region in the southwest corner of the state, comprise one of the largest and most biologically diverse watersheds in the Pacific Northwest. Four distinct sub-basins - the North, South, Middle and East - all feed into the mainstem of the Coquille River, which empties into the ocean at the coastal town of Bandon. Historically, the river's 99-mile length from mouth to headwaters in the Cascades has been prime habitat for fisheries, notably salmon and steelhead. But the region, like so many others in the Northwest, also has a long history of natural resource extraction, largely targeted at the 28 different softwood species found on the forest. Now, struggling with tight budgets and limited staff, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest's Powers Ranger District, located at the northern end of the Forest, is capitalizing on its limited restoration dollars, leveraging the funds to enhance partnerships, complete on-the-ground work, and plan for the future. » » » » » » » » » » » » Powers, Ore., with a population that hovers around 700 residents, serves as the gateway to the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The close-knit community, with roots still strongly linked to its logging past, sneaks up on you after a twisting and turning drive on Highway 242 southwest of Roseburg. Before you know it, you can pass by this valley town, continuing upriver alongside the slow waters of the South Fork of the Coquille River, on your way up and over a divide that then drops into the Rogue River valley. But to pass through Powers and the Coquille is to miss out on much: an area rich with biological diversity, with niches of endemic plants and wildlife that have carved out habitat in steep, rugged terrain; an area rich in history, including the Wagner House, the region's oldest pioneer home; and the state's third-largest river system, which supports a myriad of fish species, including winter steelhead, cutthroat trout and Chinook and coho salmon. More and more people are starting to realize these points, insists Steve Namitz, Biological Sciences Program Manager for the Powers Ranger District, and it's one reason why his District has used funds from the Pacific Coast Watershed Partnership for the dual goals of enhancing both recreation and restoration. As vans laden with river rafting gear buzz up the road on their way to the Rogue, Namitz stands at Orchard Park, a popular spot just south of Powers. In fact, the Park's popularity had become a curse of late, as an abundance of users overtaxed the park's meager restroom facilities. Raw sewage was leaking into the South Fork, directly adjacent to a well-known swimming hole and prime spawning spot for lamprey, sea-run cutthroat trout and spring Chinook salmon. Sensing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, the Powers District used $45,000 in PCWP funds to install two new restrooms in 2002. Even though the Park is on non-federal, Coos County land, the District's desire to solve the problem of sewage leaching into fish habitat compelled Nimitz and his colleagues to act. Plus, it served as a partnership-building tool with the local community as well. Other PCWP-funded work focused on the well-traveled riverside road as well. Thinning now underway in the riparian strip is clearing out small hardwoods. It also opens up views of the river below for travelers and helps spur conifer growth, which will add shade and cooling for the South Fork's waters. "We used computer modeling to show we wouldn't have an impact on river shading and water temperatures," says Namitz. "The alders we cleared out weren't growing tall enough to provide shade." Similar to other southern Oregon rivers, the South Fork's flows slow down and water levels drop during summer, forcing the river out of compliance with regulations that set water temperature thresholds for salmonids. Salmon and other species push upriver toward cooler water or hold out in deeper pools during much of July and August. "It's tough, because no matter the temperature of the water that enters the Coquille, it's going to heat up once we're in the summer months," says John Moore, a wildlife biologist with Plum Creek Timber who also serves as president of the Coquille Watershed Association, the regional watershed council. "On larger rivers, it's not really feasible to meet the standard." Continuing upriver, we arrive at a prime example of one of the largest challenges facing restoration on the Coquille: culverts. Underneath the riverside road, two large, side-by-side culverts send water into the South Fork from Coal Creek. A jumble of logs, boulders and other material nearly blocks the 40-year-old culverts' openings, giving clues to the massive storm events that periodically plug the culverts and send water spilling over the roadway. "This one is big on our radar," Namitz says, adding that if the culverts are removed, the new opening would help maintain a cool water temperature and transport woody debris to the South Fork, both good things for fish. At present, the passage poses quite a challenge for salmon and other anadromous fish. A steep lip on the South Fork side makes for a tough leap, while the lack of a pool or other resting area on the culverts' other end often sends fish bouncing back into the river, says Moore. Restoring this site is a main priority for Namitz, but funding and engineering will pose a challenge. "This is a minimum $500,000 to fix. We'd have to remove the culverts and re-route the road upstream, or put in an armored, wider span at the same spot, so it won't get washed out," he explains. "Our regional culvert review team visited this site, and it was a real head-scratcher for them." While Coal Creek remains on the District's to-do list, a comprehensive fish passage analysis prioritized the rest of the culvert work on the forest. Five sub-basins have been identified for restoration work, including culvert removals or upgrades, road decommissioning and instream log placement. The District's plan calls for each watershed to receive complete treatment before moving onto the next one. One fish passage site already fixed is Buck Creek, a tributary in the South Fork's uplands. There, a failing culvert was replaced with an oversized pipe that can accommodate a 100-year flow and grants ample passage for juvenile and adult fish. Upstream of the project, more than one-half mile of resident trout habitat was restored. Downstream from the new culvert, large logs with their root wads intact were dropped into the creek to slow the water's flow and create pools for fish to use. The District contracted with a mobile yarder for the work, which cabled trees from a distance to place them in the stream. By using the mobile yarder, compaction, oil and hazardous materials that are threats when using a tractor or other equipment are avoided, adds Namitz. Overall, the District's PCWP work thus far has largely been devoted to culverts, roads and instream log placement. Out of $116,000 in PCWP funds spent since 2000, $64,500 was directed toward such work. To date, the District has placed more than 100 logs in streams. Some of those funds also helped the Powers staff contribute to work on private land, which makes up roughly 50 percent of the ownership in the South Fork's 288 square miles. With 175,000 acres, Plum Creek is the Coquille basin's largest private landowner. The Coquille Watershed Association, with one of the larger staffs among Oregon's network of watershed councils, has received as much as $1 million in funding during past years, says Plum Creek's Moore. The council completed an action plan five years ago to direct where those funds should be spent, including one project that installed 170 miles of fencing around streams in the Coquille's agricultural areas downriver. Despite completion of the action plan, however, Moore says the council still struggled with taking a systematic approach toward its projects. "We were still taking a shotgun approach, even with the plan in place," he says. "We're now trying to be more deliberate to better choose where to work. I think that the council is primed for melding together with other basins for larger-scale work." A cooperative, public-private approach will be needed to address the Coquille's restoration from its uplands to the river valleys, and Namitz and Moore know it. With a solid foundation through the watershed council, they are hopeful they can get more done in the future. And they believe the PCWP can still play a major role, as the Powers District, like many other Forest Service outposts, comes under heavy budgetary pressure. The Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest is considering proposals that may cause layoffs of up to a quarter of its combined 350 employees during the next three years. On the Powers District, as many as 11 positions - nearly half its staff - may be eliminated. In a town the size of Powers, says Namitz, the loss could be severe. Many members of the community agree, and Powers School Superintendent Bill Gehling said as much in a letter addressed to U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Coos County Board of Commissioners: "The community is trying hard to redevelop economically and believes that the resources of the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest (and this Ranger District) can be integral to the economic redevelopment of the area ? The reconfiguration ? will adversely affect redevelopment efforts." Namitz, however, is staying hopeful and moving forward. He is especially excited about his involvement in the annual fishing derby held in Powers, which draws children from all around the region to fish, have fun and win prizes. And lately he has renewed his investigation into the life histories of the District's lamprey, a little-known fish in decline in the Coquille basin. "They're a forgotten piece of the salmon picture. Lampreys spawn and their carcasses are there during the emergence of salmonids, so they provide an important food source," he says. "But they're really a forgotten species."
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