On Saturday, August 24th, fourteen intrepid wild fish enthusiasts braved the cool weather for an “in-depth” tour of the ongoing river restoration on the South Fork McKenzie River, led by U.S. Forest Service Fish Biologists Kate Meyer and Logan Bodiford.
The day was a bit chillier than all had hoped for, but the chance to snorkel through one of the largest restoration projects in Oregon was too great a siren call to deter these admirers of natural rivers. The afternoon began with an informative overview of the project from Kate and Logan. As recently as 2015, the South Fork McKenzie was a single-thread, confined channel. While these simplified river systems still look beautiful, the fast-flowing waters and lack of diverse habitats limits its ability to provide much habitat for spawning fish or shelter for juvenile salmon.
By reconnecting the South Fork with its floodplain, lifting up the previously incised channel, and adding massive quantities of large wood to the roughly 200 acre restoration area, the US Forest Service, in partnership with the McKenzie Watershed Council, has greatly improved fish habitat. Before restoration, only about 30-50 ESA-listed spring Chinook redds were typically observed in the South Fork. Just one year after restoration was completed, a whopping 241 redds were counted. The variety of habitats and temperatures so close to one another has allowed for increased abundance of other native fish species, like red-sided shiner and speckled dace. The restoration has also increased productivity, resulting in larger resident Redside and Coastal Cutthroat Trout as well.
Following this inspiring information and a brief safety talk, the group was ready to dive in and check out the fish community for themselves. Divided into two groups, participants were rewarded with Redsides sightings almost as soon as they got in the water! As they moved through the restoration area, they watched trout feeding on drifting invertebrate larvae in deep pools just downstream of riffles and dace nosing through aquatic plants. The crystal-clear, blue water provided optimal conditions for fish viewing, and some participants even spotted Mountain Whitefish in one of the deeper pools.
We are incredibly thankful to Kate and Logan for their time and expertise in guiding us through this remarkable restoration site! We hope to organize more events like this for interested wild fish lovers in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for those opportunities!
Photos taken by NFS Northern Oregon Coordinator Liz Perkin at the NF McKenzie Snorkel:
