R & E Grant Application Project #: 15 Biennium 15-022 Forest Lake Restoration Project Information R&E Project $16,921.00 Request: Total Project: $114,577.80 Start Date: 2/1/2015 End Date: 6/30/2017 Organization: Necanicum Watershed Council (Tax ID #: 93-1235402) Fiscal Officer Name: Peggy Coreson Address: PO 474 Seaside, OR 97138 Telephone: 503-717-1458 Telephone 2: 503-939-5210 Email: [email protected] Applicant Information Name: Melyssa Graeper Address: PO Box 474 Seaside, OR 97138 Telephone: 503-717-1458 Telephone 2: 503-939-5210 Fax: 503-717-1458 Email: [email protected] Past Recommended or Completed Projects Number Name Status 11-082 Coho Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project Completed 11-145 Broadway Park Fishing Access Improvement Approved Project #: 15-022 Last Modified/Revised: 3/16/2015 11:13:39 AM Page 1 of 11 Forest Lake Restoration Location Information Where is it? The project will occur on private land owned or managed by another party Landowner Information Name: Gary Freeman Address: 85203 HWY 101 #8 Seaside, OR, 97138 Phone: 503-440-6238 Site Description Street Address, nearest intersection, or other descriptive location. 85203 HWY 101, across from Rippet Road, just south of Seaside, OR. Directions to the site from the nearest highway junction. From the junction of Hwy 101 and Hwy 26, head north on Hwy 101. Approximately 1.2 miles from the junction, turn right (east) off 101 onto Greenwood Lane. Project is focused on the north pond, just on the other side of the bridge over the Necanicum River. Following project completion, public anglers will be allowed the following level of access to the project site: Limited access Please describe what leases, easements, agreements are in place to ensure angler access to the project site, and what is the length of each agreement. The project site is located on private property, and fishing in the "lake" is not currently permitted, and fishing in the off-channel following project completion will not be allowed. However, the adjacent Necanicum River supports hatchery and naturally produced Fall Chinook, Coastal ESU Coho, Chum, hatchery and naturally produced winter steelhead, cutthroat trout, and lamprey. The project area is within a reach of the Necanicum that is popular with trout, salmon and steelhead anglers both from the bank (the landowner allows controlled public access to fish on his land) and boats. Other than possible improvements based on greater future abundance, this project will not impact current or future recreational fishing, or inhibit or interfere with navigation for boating on the Necanicum River. Dominant Land Use Type: Rural residential Project Location General Project Location. County: Clatsop Town/City: Seaside ODFW Dist: Tillamook Stream/Lake/Es Forest Lake tuary Name: Sub-basin: 17100201 Tributary of: Necanicum River Specific Project Location. Latitude Longitude Project #: 15-022 Last Modified/Revised: 3/16/2015 11:13:39 AM Page 2 of 11 Forest Lake Restoration 45.9521 -123.9250 Project Summary Project Summary Please provide a couple sentence summary of the proposal. This project will breach a small section of man-made dike to create off-channel/wetland habitat, and eliminate a large historic coho fry kill site. The project will be restored to pre-lake conditions with native plantings. Overall Project Goals Describe the primary goals or outcomes of the entire project, including elements not requesting funding from R&E. The goal of this project is to restore the historic functionality of the site to a groundwater- sourced, perennially aquatic refuge and reconnect access to and from the restored refuge to the mainstem Necanicum. Primary objectives of R&E funding Please describe the measurable objectives for the R&E portion of the funding request. Restore the historic functionality of the site to a groundwater-sourced, perennially aquatic refuge by removing 3-4 feet of accumulated fine silts, removing invasive plants, and restoring native wetland vegetation throughout. Reconnect access to and from the restored refuge on the north end area by breaching the dike along the mainstem Necanicum. Protect water quality in the north end refuge by closing off a sediment input at a failing culvert. Current Situation/Justification Please describe the current situation and explain why this funding is needed. Historically, the 8-acre Forest Lake Project site was part of the Necanicum River channel, but was diked and mined in the 1950s and ‘60s. It has since become a chronic stranding and kill site for juvenile fish – mainly ESA-listed Oregon Coast coho – but also coastal cutthroat and lamprey. During high water, coho fry (in the fall) and parr (in the spring) seeking refuge instinctively enter the off-channel site from the mainstem via the south end of the dike, and many pass to the north end via a 12-inch culvert. When water recedes, thousands of fish are stranded in lethal conditions and die. Recreation and Commercial Benefit This project will provide benefits to: Recreational fisheries Commercial fisheries Explain how this project will contribute to current (and/or potential) fishing opportunities, access, or fisheries management. The Necanicum is a very popular and well-known winter steelhead stream for both hatchery and wild stocks. The estuary supports a local fishery for hatchery and wild Chinook in late summer and within the river after the first fall rains. Some fishing effort is made primarily by fly fishers for Project #: 15-022 Last Modified/Revised: 3/16/2015 11:13:39 AM Page 3 of 11 Forest Lake Restoration sea-run cutthroat trout from July to late fall. Catch-and-release fishing for ESA-listed wild Coho salmon is also popular during late fall through early December. This project will contribute to recreational and commercial fisheries of Coho salmon (when either harvest is allowable) by eliminating a large historic kill site and increasing native coho production from the Necanicum River. Similarly, recreational steelhead and cutthroat fisheries may also see an increase in natural production by eliminating this kill site. Is this project part of an approved Salmon-Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) activity? No This project has been identified as a priority for: Local/watershed Identify any plan or other document that identifies this priority. Necanicum River Habitat Assessment: identified improving access for salmonids in this reach will create additional significant off-channel habitat ODFW Conservation Strategy: Coast EcoRegion limiting factor - alterations to estuarine and wetland habitats This project is intended to benefit the following species: Coho Chinook Salmon Lamprey Winter Steelhead Cutthroat Trout This project will benefit anglers or fishery by providing: Habitat Enhancements Habitat Enhancements The primary purpose of this project is to improve/increase: In water structure, complexity, and habitat Wetland - restoration or creation Planting or vegetation management Project Description Schedule Activity Date RE Funding Finalize design plans with CKI, Carex Consulting, ODFW, and City of Seaside. 11/14 No Necanicum Watershed Council (NWC), Wild North Coast TU (WNCTU), Tualatin Valley TU (TVTU), and local Boy Scout Troop 642 will collect and place coarse woody material (Christmas Trees) to provide 1/15 No intermediate cover for over-wintering salmon fry. WNCTU and the Necanicum Watershed Council (NWC) will continue to secure grant funding sources with organizations such as ODFW, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), and Oregon 3/15 No Wildlife Heritage Foundation, among others. A contractor will be selected and permits will be secured from Army Corp/DSL and Clatsop County, with 4/15-6/15 No help from Carex Consulting. The selected contractor will begin staging materials to build the road to breach dike and excavate materials. Culvert will be filled and sealed, and excavation will begin, creating a system of windrows of mucky alluvial silt allowing them to dry out to facilitate loading and export. This will allow an efficient 6/15 No removal of accumulated silts and non native organics and shorten the time required to excavate the site by several days. In-water work period begins. Contractor will begin exporting excavated sediments, scalpe non-native 7/15-8/15 Yes plant material, and place large wood for cover. The breach point will be armored with boulders. Project #: 15-022 Last Modified/Revised: 3/16/2015 11:13:39 AM Page 4 of 11 Forest Lake Restoration Dike will be breached by contractor at lowest summer flows to reduce sediment input to river. 8/15-9/15 Yes Revegetation work, including at least 2 volunteer field days with NWC, WNCTU, TVTU, and Clatsop- 11/15-12/15 Yes Nehalem tribe volunteers to collect wildling and plant wilding and potted stock. WNCTU and NWC will close out grants and provide press releases to the media. 1/16 No Summer presence/absence snorkel monitoring with the assistance of the Corvallis "Blueback" (TU 196) 6/16-8/16 No chapter, WNCTU, and NWC volunteers. Permits Permit Secured? Date Expected US Army Corps of Engineers: Removal-Fill Individual Consultation No 8/1/15 Clatsop County: Development Permit Yes 3/12/15 Oregon DSL: Removal-Fill Permit No 5/15/15 Project Design and Description Please describe in detail the methods or approach that will be used to achieve the project objectives. Wetlands functionality and water quality will be restored to the entire 3-acre site by excavating and removing approximately 3-4’ of accumulated fine sediments from the north pond, as well as by mechanically removing invasive reed canarygrass (RCG). As shown in the included plan view design, the original design goal was to excavate accumulated alluvial silts and non-native invasive RCG from both the north and southern pond as part of this project. After review by ODFW habitat restoration biologists and other project partners, it was decided by consensus to focus only on the removal of alluvial silts and RCG from the northern pond, and to breach the dike allowing full connectivity between the Necanicum River mainstem and the enhanced off-channel wetland complex.