Complete Watershed-Level Restoration Treatments of the West Fork Smith River

The West Fork Smith River, a 67 km² basin in Southwestern Oregon, has been heavily impacted by past land-use practices. Restoration efforts began in 1981, culminating with $1.6 million of instream activities from 2010 through 2014. The recent work resulted in the restoration of nearly all stream reaches accessible to salmonids. Restoration was accomplished through excavator, helicopter, and line-pulling machine-based placement of boulders and large woody debris. Populations of ESA-listed Oregon Coast coho salmon (Onchorhynchus kisutch), chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are expected to benefit. These efforts were led by the Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers, in conjunction with the Coos Bay BLM. A true group endeavor, the project also relied on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, USFS, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Umpqua Soil & Water Conservation District, Roseburg Resources Company, Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative, and USFWS. Stream reaches were identified through recent intrinsic potential studies done within the basin. Long-term monitoring of juvenile and adult native fish populations has been conducted by ODFW since 1998. This, in conjunction with aquatic habitat monitoring, will allow us to evaluate the biological and physical responses of our restoration efforts.