I just finished a group project for my ecological restoration course (FW 545) on restoring a wetland along Oak Creek. Our project site is a wet prairie (historically emergent) and heavily invaded by reed canary grass. The site is located on the OSU campus just south of the EPA building on SW 35th street, Corvallis, Oregon. Click on the links below to view the report and poster:

OSU Wetland Restoration Project Report

OSU Wetland Restoration Project Poster

OSU wetland site, photos taken by Kelly Clayton.

This last year, I worked on a large wood stream restoration project with the Hood River Ranger District, Mt Hood National Forest, as a fisheries technician.

Prior to the 1980’s, stream clean-out and timber harvest in riparian areas was typical.  As a result, large wood does not exist in some systems, and will, perhaps, take many years before it can regenerate itself.  The presence of fish is highly correlated to wood structures (e.g., log jams, side jams) in stream systems.  So, by placing large wood in streams, we’re enhancing the habitat for fish.

Functions of wood in streams: slows velocity, increases roughness, allows for pool development, provides cover, etc.

Camping with the family!

For a class group project, we decided to look at the risk of elevating temperatures in the Willamette River and how it affects pacific salmon populations and habitat. Three major stressors that we focused on were the removal of riparian vegetation, alterations of flow and channel structure, and discharge from point sources.

Please visit again soon to see the posted results! In the mean time, here’s a few tables to digest.

Populations of salmon have significantly declined over the years due to culverts and damming for hydroelectric power, irrigation, and flood control. Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are an anadromous variant of rainbow trout. They are commonly seen in rivers and streams all along western North America from southern California to southeast Alaska. Habitat requirements for steelhead change as they go through different life phases. Steelhead spend most of their life in freshwater habitats and migrate to the ocean. Adults return to their natal streams to spawn in the upper reaches of tributaries where they need access to spawning gravel in areas free of heavy sedimentation with adequate flow, and cover. Studies have shown that river impoundment has created barriers that limit and restrict anadromous fish from reaching their rearing and spawning habitat and modify instream habitat.

A literature review will be posted soon! Check back in the next couple of weeks…

For GEO 565, I did a literature review on GIS (Geographic Information System) and riparian ecotones. I posted an annotated bibliography on the “GIS & Riparian Zones” page. This will show what GIS literature is available for those interested in riparian and stream ecology.

Riparian: the interface between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. A riparian zone is an ecotone (2 ecosystems).

GIS: A computer application used to store, view, and analyze geographical information, especially maps.