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Charleston -- More than 100 large logs will be placed in Lampa Creek next week in an effort to increase salmonid numbers in the stream. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has been working with the Timber Company and the Coquille Watershed Association to improve habitat conditions in the stream, a tributary to the Coquille River along Highway 42S.
The logs, which were donated by the Timber Company and the Coos County Highway Department, will be used to construct pools and backwater coves, and aid beavers in building dams. "Habitat areas are limited in this watershed," said Jim Muck, ODFW biologist, "and they’re critical for juvenile salmonids to survive winter floods."
Muck said this is a continuation of successful projects in the agricultural lands of the Lampa Creek watershed. "We’ve fenced the entire stream, constructed several off-channel wetlands for juvenile salmonid winter rearing, and placed a large mitigation site of several ponds at the mouth of the stream. The logs will be placed on private timberlands to complete a holistic watershed approach to salmon restoration."
Lampa Creek currently has coho salmon, winter steelhead, and cutthroat, but in low numbers. Muck hopes to change that with the log structures and by "feeding" the stream. "The Coquille STEP Association will feed the stream this winter with hatchery carcasses. The carcasses provide nutrients for the insect population, which should thrive and in turn become food for the fish," Muck said.
Because so many people have been involved in this project, it’s one that Muck has truly enjoyed working on. "This project has become a great demonstration model to show how a community can come together for salmon restoration."
Uploaded: 8/1/1999
Uploaded: 8/1/1999