The Luckiamute Watershed Winter Steelhead Fish Passage Survey will identify high-priority restoration opportunities through a fish passage survey within five selected sub-basins in the watershed. These sub-basins are identified as having the highest potential for upper Willamette winter steelhead productivity (Upper Soap Creek, Maxfield Creek, Berry Creek, Pedee Creek, and Middle Little Luckiamute). A technical review panel will prioritize all fish passage barriers in 42.7 stream miles and produce a list of the top restoration projects, along with their associated cost estimates and property owners.

Fish passage barriers, usually culverts under roads, are well-known to be limiting factors to productivity of steelhead, salmon and trout throughout the Luckiamute River watershed. Stream reaches selected for this project correspond to the distribution of upper Willamette winter steelhead according to critical habitat designations by both ODFW and NOAA Fisheries. However, salmonid spawning and rearing habitat can be limited by impassable culverts.

We selected 42.7 miles of stream reaches having good potential for winter steelhead production for this project, which began in November 2006. All the reaches were within 8 miles of the drainage divide and the expected maximum temperatures were within the temperature regime favorable for steelhead rearing. The upstream extent of the surveys was selected where the drainage area was less than one square mile.

To identify and prioritize the repair of barriers, many hydrological and physical parameters were measured. Culvert condition, knowledge of downstream barriers, extent of potential new habitat, and landowner willingness to participate in barrier elimination projects were considered in prioritizing barriers. This project collected data to allow for an informed prioritization of restoration projects and to identify willing landowners for these projects.

The LWC outreach specialist contacted all 175 landowners along the study reach streams for access permission. Starting at the mouth of each study stream Benton Fish Passage Improvement Program personnel, along with their volunteers, surveyed all stream reaches where access was given during the spring and summer of 2007. Their goal was to locate potential barriers and enter field data into a spatial database.

An expert panel met in November 2007 to work through a process to develop a prioritized list of all potential barriers deemed to be impeding movement of steelhead adults and/or juveniles. The panel identified 16 of the 29 surveyed as top priorities for repair. They found 5 to be of unknown condition and 8 were deemed adequate. The LWC Project Manager will complete a Luckiamute Watershed Fish Passage Action Plan during the 2007-08 winter. The prioritized list is currently being reviewed by engineers to assign cost estimates to the 16 top priority passage barrier projects. LWC outreach staff will discuss possible restoration work with the property owners associated with these 16 projects and request their participation.

The $24K project ($13.5K from an Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board grant) will end in 2008, and the resulting passage restoration project proposals will follow in October.