Restoration Strategies & Action Plans

WPN assists clients in developing implementation plans at the river basin, watershed, and stream reach scales. WPN tailors the project team to each geographic scale using the appropriate tool that fits the project goals and objectives. The WPN team specializes in the following services:
  • Basin characterization
  • Limiting factor analysis for water quality and fisheries
  • Geospatial analysis
  • GIS mapping and presentation
  • Interagency and stakeholder facilitation
  • Data mining from existing sources
  • Data base development

Basin Scale Planning Examples:

Clackamas River Basin Action Plan (click on title to expand)

WPN developed an Action Plan to restore water quality, fisheries habitat and fish passage throughout the lower Clackamas River Basin. The basin provides critical habitat for Chinook, coho, steelhead and sea run cutthroat trout as well as being the source of drinking water for a large population. WPN evaluated riparian areas, instream habitat, flooding, water quality and fish populations as the basis for developing watershed improvement recommendations. WPN assisted the Clackamas River Basin Council in developing an action plan that focused on restoring watersheds in the lower basin that are primarily in private ownership. The Action Plan provided both a basinwide strategy and restoration action plans for ten watersheds in the basin.
Click here to see some of the products from the Clackamas River Basin Action Plan
Contact Steve Bauer for more information about this project

Malheur River Subbasin Plan

WPN completed the Malheur Subbasin Plan for the Malheur Watershed Council, the Burns Paiute Tribe, and the Northwest Power Planning Council. The team assessed landscape scale effects on aquatic and terrestrial species and developed a strategy to improve these habitats. An aquatic Qualitative Habitat Assessment (QHA) was completed incorporating available information on stream morphology and riparian condition. For the Terrestrial Assessment, WPN revised available vegetation maps by incorporating local knowledge from wildlife biologists and federal land managers to reflect a more realistic evaluation of current and assumed historic wildlife habitats.
Click here to see some of the products from the Malheur River Subbasin Plan
Contact Steve Bauer for more information about this project

Nehalem River Basin Restoration and Outreach Priorities

WPN compiled information on watershed conditions to assist the Upper and Lower Nehalem Watershed Councils in developing outreach materials. The councils are using this information to gain support from landowners in restoring salmon habitat on private lands. WPN developed maps to display watershed habitat conditions and links to restoration needs for each 6th field HUC in the Nehalem River Basin.
Contact Ed Salminen for more information about this project

Watershed Scale Action Plan Examples:

Granite Creek Watershed Assessment & TMDL

WPN members completed a watershed assessment and action plan for bull trout and cutthroat trout restoration in a ~65,000 acre watershed in NE Washington / NW Idaho. Limiting factors to native fish populations were assessed, habitat conditions evaluated (connectivity, riparian condition, hydrologic regime, sediment supply, and thermal regime), and a rating system developed to evaluate restoration actions. The restoration strategy action plan addresses treatment of fish passage barriers, road sediment sources, LWD enhancement, and riparian management treatments.
Contact Steve Bauer for more information about this project

Wilson River Watershed Analysis

WPN members were part of a team that analyzed the 200-square-mile Wilson River watershed, which drains to Tillamook Bay from the Oregon Coast Range, using the OWEB protocol with additional analyses. A suite of desired future riparian conditions and restoration and/or enhancement opportunities were developed. Management-related impacts to stream temperature and watershed hydrology were identified.
Click here to see some of the products from the Wilson River Watershed Analysis
Contact Ed Salminen for more information about this project

Stream Reach Scale Restoration Design Examples:

Whychus Creek Restoration and Management Plan

WPN identified opportunities for the enhancement and restoration of a four-mile-long reach within Sisters, Oregon. WPN developed restoration goals, objectives, and key factors to project success. Conceptual design and costs were developed for the highest priority reach.
Click here to see some of the products from the Whychus Creek Restoration and Management Plan
Contact Joanne Richter for more information about this project

Ohop Creek Restoration Plan

WPN (with sub-consultant GeoEngineers) acquired ground survey and LiDAR data, worked with landowners to acquire access and easements, developed stream design elements, and coordinated the project design including hydraulic analysis, wetland restoration, and channel re-construction. A one-mile portion of the project was completed in 2010.
Click here to see some of the products from the Ohop Creek Restoration Plan
Contact Ed Salminen for more information about this project

Mashel River 30% Restoration Design

WPN completed a preliminary (30%) stream restoration design of approximately 2 miles of the Mashel River, a tributary of the Nisqually River, through the City of Eatonville, Washington. Design includes levee adjustments, the creation of a new meander through a proposed city park, riprap removal/relocation, and installation of natural in-stream structures (boulders & LWD) to capture gravel and diversify salmon and steelhead habitat. Design work was performed primarily using LiDAR data. The results from this project were successfully used to acquire funding for the implementation phase.
Click here to see some of the products from the Mashel River 30% Restoration Design
Contact Ed Salminen for more information about this project