After many years of planning and coordination efforts our project to enhance salmon habitat in the lower reach of Johnson Creek has come to fruition! The project is located under the Highway 224 cloverleaf in Milwaukie, on property owned and managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) in a stretch of Johnson Creek about 0.5 miles upstream of the confluence with the Willamette River.
This particular reach of stream has 2 cold water tributary inputs, making it valuable thermal refugia during the late spring and throughout the summer months. This means colder water for fish to rest in! Designed by engineers at Wolf Water Resources, the project involved creation of 7 complex log structures and excavated pools. The project was funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) as part of a regional partnership known as the Clackamas Focused Investment Partnership. Various delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic created a number of challenges, but we were successful in the end. Restoration work was completed August 4th, and we couldn’t be happier with the results!
