Skipanon River Restoration Action Plan Adopted May, 2006

Background of Project The Skipanon Watershed Council formed in 1997 as a community-based organization to identify and proactively address watershed restoration. In 2004, the council was given funds from a civil penalty suit against a local fish processing plant. The funds are to be used for restoration in the Skipanon Watershed. Before using funds for any restoration projects, the council felt it was important to revise its Action Plan to identify the most ecological significant restoration projects within the watershed.

Goal of Project The goals of this document are to identify, analyze and priotizes, to the extent possible, potential site-specific conservation projects within the Skipanon Watershed. The Council hopes to create a document based in sound ecological principles, yet understandable by the lay reader. Additionally, the Council hopes to highlight partnership opportunities, monitoring efforts and educational opportunities. Ultimately, the Council and other watershed related organizations can utilize this document to help guide restoration, conservation and acquisition activities, monitoring and education within watershed. Lastly, the Council hopes the numerical prioritization methodology is transferable to the estuarine portions of the and Nicolai-Wickiup Watersheds.

Methods

Summary of Methods The methods to achieve the goals of the project were to 1) involve the public and 2) review and utilize other prioritization criteria. As a community-based organization, it was imperative to involve as many community members, landowners, interested citizens, municipalities and agencies in the process of identifying restoration activities as possible. To identify potential restoration projects, the Council relied on the expertise of local community members, landowners, interested citizens, representatives from local municipalities and agencies. Aerial maps were consulted to help identify projects, local knowledge and restoration recommendations gleaned from the Skipanon Watershed Assessment (E&S Environmental Chemistry, 2000).

In order to then priotizes identified projects, the Council chose to use a numerical-based evaluation system for the estuarine portion of the watershed to prioritize restoration projects. Many different prioritization metrics have been develop for the Estuary and other estuaries in the Pacific Northwest such as: An Ecosystem-Based Approach to Habitat Restoration Projects with Emphasis on Salmonids in the Columbia River Estuary, Skagit Estuary Restoration Assessment and Site Selection for Estuarine Habitat Restoration: A Model Criteria. These documents and others were used to direct the prioritization criteria; however, the Council wanted to create a document with a high- resolution of detail for each potential site, therefore, created specific criteria for prioritization, which are unique to the area.

Skipanon Watershed Background The Skipanon River is a small 5th field watershed (see figure 1) located in the northwest corner of County and includes the city of Warrenton. The Skipanon Watershed is unique in that it is located on the and characterized by coastal dunes, wetlands in the low inter dune and floodplain areas, and forested in the uplands. There is also significant development pressure in the City of Warrenton resulting in conflicts between development and wetland protection. The Skipanon River is the first tributary to the Columbia River Estuary on the side and drains approximately 28 square miles or 16,483 acres. The watershed is comprised 99.5 % private land and 0.5% state forestland. Fifty-five percent of the watershed is timberland, wetlands comprise 21% with grassland, and development comprising the remainder land uses. The Skipanon Watershed is in the Lower Columbia River Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU), which has coho, chum, and Chinook salmon listed as either threatened or endangered. The Skipanon River currently supports a population of coho salmon. Additionally, several species of threatened and endangered salmon either reside in the Skipanon or utilize estuarine portions of the Skipanon watershed as a rearing, foraging, and migratory transition area for part of their life cycles. This makes conditions in lower Skipanon tributaries particularly the estuary, critical habitat for local as well as up river Columbia Basin fish stocks.

The watershed has 7.6 miles of streams (mainly the Skipanon) on Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) 303(d) list for Dissolved Oxygen. Additionally, lakes are also a prominent landscape feature in the Clatsop Plains area. Major lakes in the Skipanon Watershed include: Coffenberry Lake Sunset Smith Lake

Cullaby, Sunset and Smith Lake are listed on the DEQ’s 303 (d) list for aquatic weeds.

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Figure 1. Skipanon River sub-watersheds.

Completed Projects th The 8 Street Dam project (see Figure 2) on the mainstem Skipanon River is a prime example of successful community-based restoration in the Skipanon. The tidegate structure built in the late 1960s to help prevent flooding downstream, slowly diminished water quality and eliminated fish passage above the structure. In 2002, the structure was retrofitted with a lifting mechanism to improve estuarine tidal exchange and fish passage and remain open from May through October. Additionally, three by four foot holes were cut into the three gates to allow fish passage and provide limited hydrological exchange. The Council continues to collect significant water quality data to document it affects as well as spawning surveys in the upper portions of the watershed in Cullaby Creek.

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Figure 2. 8th Street Dam.

Estuary An estuary is defined as, “semi-closed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and, within which, seawater mixes and usually is measurably diluted with freshwater from land runoff.” (Donald Prichard 1967 quoted in Oregon Sea Grant, 2002) Estuaries are highly productive habitats, which provide essential salmon habitat, habitat for birds and mammals and provide other ecological functions such as water quality filtering and recreation such as claming and fishing.

The Skipanon River Estuary, similar to all of the Columbia River Estuary, is negatively impacted from filling, diking, and development for commercial purposes that reduced its area to only a percentage of its historic size. The Youngs Bay Estuary, of which the Skipanon often is considered part, has lost approximately 86% of tidal marshes and over 95% of tidal swamps (Thomas 1993: Changes in Columbia River Estuary Habitat Types over the Past Century).

Restoring historic connections and estuarine habitat is critical to the function of the entire Skipanon Watershed. However, choosing the most effective project should be selected which have the highest ecological value. The following list, developed by CREST, Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers should be used as general principles to help assess estuarine restoration projects. Projects can be priotizes on the following criteria:

Community Support: Tidal restoration offten requires hydrological changes (e.g. dike breaching and associated flooding) which must be coordinated with, and supported by surrounding property owners.

Habitat Connectivity: Emphasize linkages between habitat areas that provide a variety of functions for species at various points of their life cycle

Areas of Historic Habitat Type Loss: Land use activities such as diking, filling, and shoreline development have removed many of the shallow, peripheral wetlands and isolated rivers from their floodplain

Linkages to Reference Site(s): Allows for monitoring the growth, species composition, successional stage and time period of the restoration site in comparison to the reference site. This will assist in developing performance standards and benchmarks for restoration activities.

Passive Habitat Restoration over Habitat Creation: “Passive” restoration methods such as dike and tide gate removal should receive first priority for restoration experiments since historic habitat features of the surrounding area may still be intact. When possible, returning the site to historic hydrologic conditions, using or mimicking natural processes, should be prioritized (i.e. removal of tidegates, levees), over large scale earth moving and further engineered solutions.

Monitoring and Evaluation: The results of monitoring can provide the foundation for more effective restoration methods in future projects.

To further prioritize each site, a qualitative numerical system has been developed which considered various factors such as: size of restored habitat, project buffer area, ease of restoration, salinity influence and hydrological connection. The following criteria were partially adapted from Site Selection for Estuarine Habitat Restoration: A Model Criteria White, et al. in the Skagit Watershed of Washington State. Because the Skipanon estuary is vastly different from the Skagit estuary, not all criteria were used, or used with the same weighting.

Site Area Habitat benefited in acres 0-0.25 (0.33) 2.1-4.0 (1.66) 32.1-64.0 (3.0) 0.26-0.5 (0.66) 4.1-8.0 (2.0) 64.1-128.0 (3.33) 0.6-1.0 (1.0) 8.1-16.0 (2.33) 128.1-256 (3.66)

1.1-2.0 (1.33) 16.1-32.0 (2.66) >256.1 (4.0)

Within the Skipanon Watershed, restoration sites vary in size. Most prioritization methods agree the larger the site, the greater potential for restoration success. “In general, larger sizes enhances stability, increases the number of species that can potentially use the site, makes it easier to find by migratory species, and increases within- habitat complexity” (Johnson et al. 2003).

Buffer Percentage of perimeter covered by at least a 50-foot wide native vegetation or waterway 0% (0) 1-25% (.5) 26-50% (1) 51-75% (1.5) 76-100% (2)

Buffers, such as vegetated riparian zones, are important to restoration sites to help filter contaminates, clean water, provide transitional habitat and migration corridors. Thom and Shreffler recommend a 100-ft buffer in the highly impacted estuaries of Puget Sound. Because the Skipanon Watershed is void of heavy industrial development, except in the lower mile, we have chosen to use a 50-ft buffer.

Restoration Ease Not diked (3) Diked or filled (2) Diked and filled (1)

Much of the Skipanon River is diked and filled; however, sites may exist that exhibit restoration opportunities that are less expensive or require less coordination, i.e. no adjacent homes or neighbors. Tanner notes, “This criteria is designed to give weight to more cost-effective projects.”

Landownership Public ownership (1) Private ownership (0)

The potential exist to implement restoration on public land is easier than implementing restoration on private land. Implementing restoration on public land might provide opportunities for more public access, education or long-term research/monitoring.

Hydrological connection Partial tidal reconnection (1) Complete tidal reconnection (2)

Hydrological connections may be divided into two categories, 1. Partial tidal connections (such as replacing tidegates) and 2. Complete tidal connections (such as breaching dikes). Greater hydrological connections, for example, tidal marshes connected to a mainstem riverine systems, allow for great egress and ingress of salmonid species and sediment transport. “Connectivity means that an animal can move between adjacent habitats to derive the benefits of each habitat. It also refers to the flow of material such as organic matter between area of production (e.g. salt marsh) and areas of deposition (e.g. tidal channels and creek bottoms where materials are utilized by the ecosystem)” (Johnson et al. 2003)

Salinity Below Hwy 101 Bridge (2) Between Hwy 101 and Plyter Dam (1)

Similarly to the rest of the Columbia River Estuary, the Skipanon is largely a freshwater dominated estuarine system. Many salmonid species utilize the estuary as part of their life history strategy before migrating to the ocean. Implementing restoration projects to restore historical estuarine wetlands, marshes or tidal swamps with higher salinity concentration is weighted higher. Salinity measurements indicate a significant decrease in salinity concentrations above the Hwy 101 bridge. This landmark is used to delineate the break in salinity for two reasons: 1. decreasing salinity intrusion and 2. identifiable land mark.

Lastly, because of the nature of estuarine or tidal restoration and some of the fear associated with restoration, there are still other factors, which must be considered before restoration is implemented. Examples include:

Landowner support: This differs from community-support. The community might rank a project for high ecological value; however, the landowner may have other goals and visions for the property.

Description of Restoration Projects

Throughout the remainder of the document, different restoration themes and concepts will be discussed. This section is to give a new watershed council partcipants or other readers not familiar with theses concepts, background into different restoration practices.

Tidegate replacement Tidegates are installed through dikes and designed to prevent tidally influenced water from flooding upstream property (see Figure 3). Additionally, the design allows for upstream freshwater to evacuate as the tide recedes. However, the tidegates could present a total or partial fish blockage to historic rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids.

Figure 3. Tide-gate schematic (Giannco & Souder, 2004).

Additionally, many sloughs have seen water quality diminished with the lack of tidal exchange, as streams and slough have become stagnant. Replacing antiquated tidegates is assumed to provide improved fish passage and water exchange for improved water quality. “Because tide gates cause freshwater stagnation and restrict tidal inflow, they tend to increase upstream water temperatures. In this manner, tide gates can potentially create unsuitable conditions for juvenile salmon that use the lower river and the upper estuary as nursery grounds” (Giannco & Souder, 2004). Replacing heavy cast-iron or wood lids with lighter, aluminum tidegate lids (see Figure 4) is one option to improve water quality including lowering temperature. Many organizations are replacing tidegates and conducting follow-up effectiveness monitoring for water quality improvement and fish use. No definitive data is available; however, antidotal data suggest new tidegates can have a positive impact on improving access for rearing juvenile and water quality improvements.

Figure 4. Heavy cast-iron lid only opens a small amount to evacuate water (left) and aluminum gate with adjustable fish opening (right).

Dike breaching Dike breaching is the practice of reconnecting historic floodplains back to tidal influence. This is done by removing a portion of, or the entire dike to allow tidal water to flood across the previously dike area. Benefits from this restoration practice include: Rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids Material transportation Restoration of native plant communities Flood storage

Flood plain reconnection Flood plain reconnection is very similar to dike breaching, in that it’s connecting two habitats that no longer have a relationship. Floodplain reconnection might mean grading back an incised stream channel or removing dredged material from river’s banks. Benefits for reconnecting floodplains include: Improved salmonid habitat Flood storage Sediment retention Amphibian habitat

Riparian Restoration Much of the native riparian vegetation along the Skipanon River has been removed and converted to farmland or other types of development. Having a functioning riparian corridor with native vegetation provides the following benefits: Erosion control Stream shade Migration corridors Future Large Woody Debris

Restoration Projects Below is the list of potential restoration projects in the estuarine habitat of the Skipanon Watershed. Project Habitat Historic Reference Passive Monitoring Community Connectivity Habitat site restoration & Support Evaluation Eastbank Potential This No local Yes, some Yes, fish The Port of Skipanon exist for site is reference signature use, Astoria is (Port of tidegate diked site exist; tidal vegetation, interested in Astoria removal & with a however, channels channel Golf Course & dike loss of the exist. morphology or other Division breaching historic Chinook Removing industrial of State habitat River in the dike development Lands) Wa. and allow opportunities. might the site to provide a find reference dynamic equilibrium

Summary: The Eastbank Skipanon is approximately 302 acres in size with 207.5 acres of wetlands, or 68.7%. The Port of Astoria is implementing feasibility studies for development of the Eastbank Skipanon. Currently, an 18-hole golf course and/or a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility are being considered. Potential for restoration may exist with the golf course; however, on-site restoration with a LNG facility have not been explored.

Project Habitat Historic Reference Passive Monitoring Community Connectivity Habitat site restoration & Support Evaluation Skipanon Provides Provides Mainstem Yes, only Yes, base Some local Slough access to access to Skipanon provides line adjacent rearing habitat historically limited monitoring landowners Tidegate connected can be hydrological has been have concerns replacement habitat used as connection implemented about baseline via tidegate flooding, condition replacement landuse, regulations

Summary: Historically, the Skipanon Slough was directly connected to the Skipanon River. In 19XX a dike was constructed, bifurcating the slough—reducing tidal exchange, limiting fish passage and ultimately degrading water quality. The conceptual idea is to replace the antiquated 6’ cast iron tidegate with a new water control structure. The new structure might consist of an aluminum tidegate or another structure(s), which control water entering the slough in the winter and conversely, allow more tidal exchange in low- flow periods. This has the potential to improve fish passage and water quality via tidal exchange. Additionally, a more efficient structure could attenuate flood water by excavating water more efficiently.

Project Habitat Historic Reference Passive Monitoring Community Connectivity Habitat site restoration & Support Evaluation Palmberg Perhaps only Historic N/A Yes, Fish use, Landowner Acquisition area with conditions potential channel contact made remnant old- included dike morphology growth tidal breaching characteristics spruce in lower swamp Skipanon Potential for additional restoration

Summary: The property possesses some of the best in tact spruce swamp wetlands in the Skipanon River. A conservation purchase subsequently followed with restoration of the site will continue to provide watershed value to the lower Skipanon River. It is fully understood this property is privately owned and the landowners have not expressed interest in selling.

Project Habitat Historic Reference Passive Monitoring Community Connectivity Habitat site restoration & Support Evaluation Warrenton Existing Tidal N/A Conservation Fish and Excellent High dike spruce easement, avian use, opportunities School currently swamp dike invasive for students restricts removal, species, to tidal invasive native plant implement inundation species communities field from eradication research entering the site

Summary: Currently, the School District is not using the property for any use. Opportunities exist for restoration, conservation easement and/or outdoor environmental education. Projects as small as involving student to eradicate invasive species to tidal restoration are possibilities. Additionally, the property is located next to a +/- 1 acre site owned by the North Coast Land Conservancy. Another +/- 1.75 acre parcel owned by Warrenton Land and Timber would complement property owned by Warrenton High School with additional habitat for restoration.

Project Habitat Historic Reference Passive Monitoring Community Connectivity Habitat site restoration & Support Evaluation Warrenton Existing Tidal N/A Acquisition, Fish and Privately Land and dike spruce conservation avian use, owned, Investment currently swamp easement, invasive landowner restricts dike species, has not been tidal removal, native plant contacted inundation invasive communities about from species restoration entering the eradication or site acquisition opportunities

Summary: Several parcels exist contiguously to create an opportunity to implement restoration such as floodplain reconnection/dike breaching. It is fully understood this property is privately owned and the landowners have not expressed interest in selling.

Project Habitat Historic Reference Passive Monitoring Community Connectivity Habitat site restoration & Support Evaluation Clatsop Existing Tidal N/A Acquisition, Fish and The County dike spruce conservation avian use, property is currently swamp easement, invasive owned by restricts dike species, Clatsop tidal removal, native plant County inundation invasive communities from species entering the eradication site

Summary: Opportunities exist to work with Clatsop County to explore restoration potential. Several parcels exist contiguously to create an opportunity to implement restoration such as floodplain reconnection/dike breaching or access to the river by community members.

Project Floodplain Riparian Spawning/rearing/ Community Passive Monitoring reconnection Habitat migration habitat Support restoration & Evaluation Bickmore Potential The area Habitat Landowner Tree This site Farm exists to lacks a improvements to is supportive planting, posses a improve the functioning this area would of dike high relationship riparian benefit migrating restoration removal, degree for between the habitat and rearing opportunities wetland monitoring Skipanon & habitat creation and and its evaluation floodplain

Summary: Historically, the Tagg Farm LLC was a large cattle operation. In 19XX Clatsop Soil & Water Conservation District installed fencing and planting on a large portion of the property. However, due to weed competition and a lack of maintenance, nearly all the native trees planted have died. Although this project ranks low from a prioritization standpoint, many restoration opportunities exist with a willing landowner. Restoration options include: Riparian planting LWD placement Floodplain reconnection Nutrient management Off-channel cattle watering Culvert replacement on tributaries

Project Floodplain Riparian Spawning/rearing/ Community Passive Monitoring reconnection Habitat migration habitat Support restoration & Evaluation Scheller Potential Opportunities Habitat Landowner Tree This site floodplain exists to exist to improvements to has planting, posses a reconnection improve the reestablished this area would implemented dike high project relationship native benefit migrating restoration removal, degree for between the vegetation on and rearing and is wetland monitoring Skipanon, upland habitat willing to creation and its portions of have more evaluation floodplain the project work and existing implemented wetlands

Summary: Since 1980, the Scheller’s have worked to restore 15 acres of their property with native tree planting, pond/wetland creation and invasive species removal. Long- term goal for the property include a conservation easement to ensure the owners’ work is preserved in perpetuity. Restoration options include: Floodplain reconnection with wetlands/ponds LWD placement Riparian restoration

Riverine

The riverine portion of the Skipanon River extends from approximately from approximately RM 6 to Cullaby Lake located at approximately RM 7. Currently, this habitat provides migration for adult and juvenile salmonids and has the potential to provide rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids; however, because of factors such as its lack of sinuosity, voidance of off channel refugia and Large Woody Debris, complex habitat is lacking. Additionally, two water control structures are located in this habitat. 1. Plyter Dam at RM 6 and 2. Cullaby Lake Dam, RM 7, located at the mouth of Cullaby Lake.

To improve the riverine habitat in of the Skipanon River, projects to address limiting factors and improve watershed functions include: Floodplain reconnection Fish passage Large Woody Debris placement Riparian habitat improvements Farm management (cattle fencing, off-channel watering, etc) Invasive species removal

Prioritizing restoration projects in the riverine habitat will have difference criteria than estuarine habitat projects. Projects should be priotizes using the following criteria: Provides habitat for needed lifecycle (off-channel habitat) Improves fish passage to spawning habitat, out migrating juveniles Monitoring & Evaluation Community & landowner supported

Restoration Projects Below is the list of potential restoration projects in the riverine habitat of the Skipanon Watershed.

Project Fish passage Passive Community Support Monitoring improvement restoration & Evaluation Cullaby Changing the dam Yes Yes, the Skipanon Water Lake could address fish Control District Dam passage concerns commissioned the design work and may be able to provide cash match

Summary: Installed in 19XX, the Cullaby Lake Dam is designed to manually control the level in Cullaby Lake at different depths during various times of the year. Currently, the structure is a potential barrier to returning adult and out migrating juvenile salmonids. Additionally, operating the dam (removing boards to change lake level) creates a safety hazard as this practices is implemented during high water events. In 2005, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) designed a new structure to increase safety, improve water level manipulation and address fish passage.

Lakes

Throughout the Skipanon Watershed there are several lakes (see Figure 5). Many of theses lakes are important for recreational activities including water skiing, canoeing, fishing and aesthetics. The primary focus of this document will look at Cullaby, Coffenbury and Smith Lakes. Cullaby Lake is the largest, and most popular lake at approximately 207 acres, Coffenbury is approximately 53 acres and Smith Lake at 51 acres in size. Additionally, Cullaby Lake functions as a migration corridor for juvenile and adult coho salmon.

All three of these lakes; however, are experiencing a rapid growth of aquatic weeds, which are threatening their health. Portland State University’s Center for Lakes and Reservoirs completed a study in July 2004: Clatsop Plains Lakes Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plans. The study focused on aquatic weeds in Cullaby, Coffenbury, Smith and Sunset Lakes, including: species richness, abundance, and control methods of weeds. For all the lakes, the recommendation for controlling weeds is community involvement, education and a weed-harvesting program. Harvesting is recommended three times per year. To implement a harvesting project, there are many agencies coordinating with will be critical. For example, to harvest weeds in Cullaby Lake, coordination is imperative with Clatsop County, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries and local residents. Harvesting in the other lakes need to be coordinated with landowners on timing windows, access and disposal of weeds. For more detail on weeds, needed permits, coordination, etc, see Clatsop Plains Lakes Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plans.

Figure 5. Clatsop Lakes.

The Council has agreed implementing a weed-harvesting program in the three lakes is a high priority project. Several reasons exist for this including: High degree of community support Immediate need Identification of funding source

In 2005, with support from the Skipanon Water Control District, the Council wrote a grant to the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership to purchase an Aquatic Weed Harvester (AWH). The AWH would allow the District to harvest weeds in Cullaby, Smith and Sunset Lakes. The grant was subsequently turned down; however, another opportunity is available in 2006. The Council is encouraged from the funder to draft a more focused proposal and re-submit the grant.

D. Ft. Stevens, Swash Lake and Alder Creek 1. Riparian Restoration 2. Tidegate improvements/management 3. Ft. Stevens State Park

E. Lakes 1.Cullaby Lake Weed Management Plan (PSU) 2.Smith Lake Weed Management Plan (PSU)

Perhaps we should identify what is missing, work backwards to determine the areas, once restored, would provide this type of habitat.