NOAA Restoration Center Community-Based Restoration

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NOAA Restoration Center OMB Approval No. Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) Expires Progress Report Narrative Format

I. Project Title Off-Channel Habitat Enhancement at the Confluence of the Willamette River and Tryon Creek

II. Reporting Period Supplemental Final Report - April 1, 2010 – March 1, 2011

III. Project Narrative (this section is required for the final comprehensive report only) Except during large events, lower Tryon Creek was disconnected from its floodplain. The creek was channelized and lined with rock. The primary objective of this project was to enhance critical fish habitat at Tryon Creek’s confluence with the Willamette River. Coho, Chinook, Steelhead and cutthroat have all been found in Tryon Creek in recent years.

Through this project, BES expanded shallow water habitat and placed large wood structures on approximately 100 feet of Willamette River shoreline. In the lower 900 feet of Tryon Creek, the project improved channel and floodplain complexity, as well as channel condition and habitat structure. Large wood, boulders and streambed material were added to increase channel roughness and improve channel condition. Floodplain connectivity improved by excavating a portion of the project area, creating a broad floodplain bench along approximately 400 feet of Tryon Creek and laying back the bank along the remainder of the project area. The project also included approximately 3.5 acres of invasive plant management and native revegetation in the surrounding riparian area.

Page 1 of 10 IV. Methodology In the spring of 2010, BES awarded a construction contract to Nutter Corporation. Notice to proceed was issued in May 2010. With oversight from BES construction management and inspection staff, Nutter completed the project. BES’s Revegetation Group followed with invasives control and native plantings. BES has also had numerous outreach and education opportunities.

On-the ground construction activities that occurred during this period included: • Mobilization and demobilization of equipment and materials • Installation and removal of fencing for tree protection and site security • Installation and removal of erosion control measures • Clearing and grubbing • Removed 14 trees, incorporated in project as feasible and appropriate depending on species and size. • Creek diversion and fish salvage. • Excavation and grading approximately 5000 cubic yards of material • Salvaged and placed boulders • Placed over 100 logs for habitat structures • Constructed fabric-encapsulated soil lifts along lower 900 feet of Tryon Creek bank. • Road repair and paving • Invasives control, seeding and planting.

V. Results/Progress to Date BES’s contractor worked from July 2010 – October 2010, completing work within the regulatory in-water work window. BES’s Revegetation Group performed initial invasives control and native planting at various times between November 2010 and February 2011. See above section IV for activities completed.

.This project presented several challenges, as follows. • The grant timeline ended before the in-water work timeline. It was difficult to accurately predict how much of the in-water work would be complete in the grant timeline. Timing of fiscal years and in-water periods is a challenge common to many of our grant-funded projects. • During excavation of the floodplain bench and bank-layback, many more large boulders were encountered than anticipated during design. The project team was able to use many of these boulders in the project, rather than purchasing boulders, as had been expected. Boulders that could not be incorporated in the project were given to other stream enhancement projects in the Portland metropolitan area. • BES has had an adaptive management approach to maintenance for projects such as this for some time. A very large storm occurred in December 2010, shortly after construction was complete. It deposited large wood from upstream areas on the newly created floodplain and constricted a portion of the channel. Where the channel constriction occurred, an overflow path developed in the floodplain. The

Page 2 of 10 area is being monitored but there does not appear to be a risk to neighboring property or infrastructure, so only minor modifications have been made at this location. • Several neighbors were unaware there were salmonids already in the Willamette River and Tryon Creek. Through our project outreach, they learned they had important habitat at their back doors. Tours and meetings in person gave a better opportunity to make this point than outreach though the mail.

VI. Monitoring and Maintenance Activities BES has begun post-project monitoring, including annual visits for photo points, vegetation establishment and macro invertebrate surveys. Fish surveys are done year-round, primarily using the US Fish & Wildlife PIT tag arrays.

Adaptive management will take place as needed, based on observation of how the creek responds to the changes made and risk. This may include such activities as additional plantings, cutting large woody debris, moving boulders, and performing localized grading.

VII. Community Involvement Public outreach during this reporting period has included the following: • Pre-construction tour with Stampher Road Homeowners Association to educate neighbors about habitat elements of the project as well as construction safety, May 11, 2010 and June 2, 2010. • Frequent emails with Homeowners Association during construction

VIII. Outreach Activities • The project was included in an educational kayak tour of several Willamette confluence projects for Johnson Creek Watershed Council, August 13, 2010. • Tour for Friends of Tryon State Park Board Members, August 19, 2010 • Project representation at Multnomah Days street fair, August 21, 2010 • Tour for Environmental and Water Resources Group of American Society of Civil Engineers, August 25, 2010 • Newspaper article in Portland Tribune, August 26, 2010 • Participation in USGS habitat restoration podcast, December 13, 2010

IX. Supporting Materials The following items are attached: • BES project fact sheet distributed at outreach events • Project photos- before, during and after construction • Portland Tribune article, August 26, 2010

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X. Funding Information (Cash and In-kind) 1. Itemized Budget table

(during LCREP/NOAA grant period)

Budget Category (e.g. personnel, supplies, NOAA Matching Nature (cash or in-kind) contractual, etc.) Funds Contributions Total Expense and Source of Match Personnel $ 43,150.86 $ 43,150.86 City of Portland / cash Benefits $ 13,902.23 $ 13,902.23 City of Portland / cash Consulting $ 7,574.39 $ 7,574.39 City of Portland / cash Misc Services (permit / BOLI fees) $ 754.28 $ 754.28 City of Portland / cash Construction contract $ 143,973.00 $ 44,434.40 $ 188,407.40 City of Portland / cash Materials testing $ 162.50 $ 162.50 City of Portland / cash Copy/Print/Bind services $ 334.58 $ 334.58 City of Portland / cash Forestry services $ 5,974.84 $ 5,974.84 City of Portland / cash Traffic Operations $ 125.49 $ 125.49 City of Portland / cash Survey $ 28,396.43 $ 28,396.43 City of Portland / cash Total: $ 143,973.00 $ 144,810.00 $ 288,783.00

2. Budget Narrative: The above table is for the LCREP / NOAA grant funding period of April 1, 2010 – August 31, 2010. A summary with other funding partners is shown below for the full construction phase.

Page 4 of 10 NOAA Restoration Center OMB Approval No. Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) Expires Project Data Form

CONTACT INFORMATION Contact Name: Kristen Acock Contact Title: Project manager Organization (Grantee): City of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Services Street Address: 1120 SW 5th Ave., Room 1000 City: Portland State: OR Zip: 97204 Phone: 503.823.7395 Fax: 503.823.6995 E-mail: [email protected]

Organization website (if applicable): www.portlandonline.com/bes

PROJECT INFORMATION Project Title: Off-Channel Habitat Enhancement at the Confluence of the Willamette River and Tryon Creek Project Award Number: LCREP 29-2010 Project Reporting Period: April 1, 2010 – March 1, 2011 Project Location - City: Lake Oswego County: Clackamas State: OR Zip Code: 97034

Congressional District(s): 5 Landmark (e.g. road intersection, beach): OR HWY 43 & Stampher Road Land Ownership (check one): City of Portland, City of Lake Oswego and Metro

Geographic Coordinates (in decimal degrees):

Longitude (X-coord): 45.42 Are there multiple project sites for Latitude (Y-coord): -122.66 this award?* __ Yes _x_ No River Basin: Willamette

Geographic Identifier (e.g. Chesapeake Bay): Lower Willamette Project Start Date: 04/01/10 Project End Date: 03/01/11 Project Volunteers: Number of Volunteers: 0 Volunteer Hours: 0

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* If multiple project sites are part of the same award, please duplicate this form and submit required information for each site

Page 6 of 10 Brief Project Description (1-2 sentences) describing project and what it hopes to accomplish: The primary goal is to enhance fish habitat at the confluence of the Willamette River and Tryon Creek, with shoreline and channel improvements, invasive plant removal and native plantings. The project includes habitat enhancement of approximately 100 feet of the Willamette River shoreline, 900 feet of lower Tryon Creek and approximately 3.5 acres of invasive plant removal and revegetation with native species.

List of Project Partners and their contributions (e.g. cash, in-kind, goods and services, etc.)

LCREP/ NOAA - $143,973 construction phase OWEB - $100,000 construction phase City of Portland - $199,415 construction phase TOTAL: $443,388 construction phase

If permits are required, please list the permits pending and those acquired to date: Army Corps Nationwide – acquired December 2009 Oregon Department of State Lands Removal/Fill – acquired September 2009 City of Lake Oswego Land Use Review – acquired January 2010 Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 1200-c – acquired March 2010

RESTORATION INFORMATION- Please complete this section to the best of your ability. Information below will be confirmed via site visit or phone call by NOAA staff before the close-out of an award.

List the habitat type(s) and acres restored/enhanced/protected or created to date (cumulative) and remainder to be restored/enhanced/protected or created (projected) with CRP funds by the end date of the award. If the project restores fish passage, list the stream miles opened upstream and downstream for fish access. Actual and Projected columns should add up to the total(s) for acreage to be restored with CRP funds indicated in the approved proposal.

Habitat Type Actual Acres Projected Acres Actual Stream Projected Stream Miles (e.g. tidal wetland, Restored (i.e. Remainder to Miles Opened Opened for Fish Access oyster reef, mangrove) (To date- be restored with for Fish (i.e. Remainder to be restored with cumulative) CRP funds by Access CRP funds by award end date) award end date) Riparian 3.5 n/a n/a n/a

What indirect benefits resulted from this project? (e.g. improved water quality, increased awareness/stewardship)

Page 7 of 10 While this is primarily an aquatic enhancement project, the revegetation will improve conditions for terrestrial species as well.

Several neighbors were unaware there were salmonids already in the Willamette River and Tryon Creek. Through our project outreach, they learned they had important habitat at their back doors.

Page 8 of 10 List of species (fish, shellfish, invertebrates) benefiting from project (common name and/or genus and species): 1.Coho 6. 2.Chinook 7. 3.Steelhead / rainbow trout 8. 4.Cutthroat trout 9. 5. Lamprey 10.

MONITORING ACTIVITIES List of monitoring techniques used (e.g. salinity, fish counts, vegetation presence/absence): 1. photo monitoring 6. 2. fish counts 7. 3.Macro invertebrate counts 8. 4. vegetation 9. 5. 10.

Report Prepared By: ____Kristen Acock______May 10, 2011______Signature Date

Please send semi-annual and final progress reports and supporting materials to:

NOAA Restoration Center F/HC3 1315 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 ATTN: NOAA Community-based Restoration Program Progress Reports

The Progress Report Narrative Format and Project Data Form are available on the NOAA Restoration Center website at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community. Electronic submissions are encouraged. Please submit electronic progress reports on PC compatible floppy disk or CD ROM in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or PDF formats.

Be sure to save a copy of each report for your records; subsequent submissions of the Project Data Form need only add outstanding information, so that the form is completed in its entirety as part of the final comprehensive progress report.

Questions? Please call 301-713-0174 and ask to speak with NOAA Community-based Restoration Program staff.

Page 9 of 10 NOTICE

Responses to this collection are required of grant recipients to support the NOAA Community- based Restoration Program. The information provided will be used to evaluate the progress of the work proposed under the grant/cooperative agreement and determine whether the project conducted under the grant/cooperative agreement was successfully completed. Public reporting burden for completing the progress report narrative and project data form is estimated to average fifteen hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the information needed and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Responses to this information collection are required to retain funding provided by the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program. Confidentiality will not be maintained – the information will be available to the public. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation, Restoration Division, F/HC3, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

The information collected will be reviewed for compliance with the NOAA Section 515 Guidelines established in response to the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, and certified before dissemination.

Page 10 of 10 working for Clean Rivers

Tryon Creek Confluence 2010 Habitat Enhancement Project working for clean rivers, healthy watersheds, and a livable, sustainable community

Tryon Creek confluence Project Background his project includes stream enhancement of about 900 feet of Tryon Creek, beginning at its confluence with the Willamette River. The work Tincludes removing invasive plants and revegetating with native species on about 3.5 acres. The Tryon Creek confluence area is within the Lake Oswego city limits on land owned by Metro, the City of Lake Oswego and the City of Portland.

This is the second phase of SW TERWILLIGE the project. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) R completed phase one just upstream in summer 2008. That work included stream enhancement and modify- ing the Highway 43 culvert PHASE I Complete to improve fish passage PHASE II into the 645-acre Tryon SIMPLIFIED MAP - WS 0913 Creek State Natural Area.

Phase two builds on ODOT’s work to improve fish and wildlife habitat. Tryon Creek State Natural Area is well suited for coho salmon and steelhead production. This phase will create off-channel habitat as refuge for fish during high flows, and will give fish greater access to the natural area. The natural area is the only state park in Oregon located in a major metropolitan area. Project Description The Tryon Creek Confluence Habitat Enhancement Project: • Improved in-stream and stream bank habitat quality and complexity for salmon and steelhead listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act; lamprey, which are listed as a species of concern; and other native species • Improved floodplain connectivity • Improved riparian and upland habitat by removing invasives and establishing native plant communities

Budget This project is funded by the City of Portland Watershed Investment Fund, the Environmental Services Capital Improvement Program and grants from the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program.

Timeline Environmental Services completed design in December 2009. Construction took place in summer and fall 2010. Revegetation will occur in the winter following construction. Monitoring will continue for five years after construction and revegetation are complete.

For More Information www.portlandonline.com/bes/tryon

Revegetaion plants include natives such as Red osier dogwood Swordfern and Western redcedar

Printed on recycled paper. WS 1038 rev Sept 2010 Photo 1

Photo 3

Photo 2

Photos 1-3 depict before and after site conditions along Tryon Creek at photopoint 4B. Photo 1 depicts site conditions in March 2010 prior to construction. Photo 2 depicts site conditions in October 2011, following bank layback and installation of large wood and boulder structures. This is prior to riparian planting. Photo 3 depicts site conditions January 20, 2011, backwatered by the Willamette River. A bird box is visible in each photo.

Photo 4 Photo 6

Photo 5 Photo 7

Photos 4-7 depict before and after site conditions along Tryon Creek at photopoint 8. Photo 4 depicts site conditions in March 2010 prior to construction. The person in the photo is standing in the location of the floodplain excavation. Photo 5 depicts site conditions in October 2011, following floodplain excavation and installation of large wood and boulder structures. Photo 6 was taken from a similar vantage point, showing the new floodplain engaged on December 11, 2010 after significant rainfall in the subwatershed. Live stakes and recruited wood are visible. Photo 7 depicts site conditions January 20, 2011 under backwater from the Willamette River. Riparian planting occurred after these photos in February 2011.

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photos 8 and 9 depict Tryon Creek depict before (March 2010) and after (October 2010) site conditions along Tryon Creek at photopoint 13B. Work complete in Photo 9 includes bank layback installation of large wood and boulder structures. Planting is not complete in this photo. Photo 10 September 4, 2008

Photo 11 October 21, 2010

Photo 12 December 10, 2010

Photos 10 – 12 depict the confluence of the Willamette River and Tryon Creek before (Photo 10) and after (Photos 11, 12) project work. Work complete in Photos 11 & 12 includes expanded shallow water habitat and large wood installation. Photo 12 depicts a higher water event. Revegetation was completed after these photos – in February 2011.

The Tryon Creek Project Fish, wildlife, people to benefit from local effort BY CLIFF NEWELL The Lake Oswego Review, Aug 26, 2010

Tryon Creek State Park will be a much better Work crews are changing the place with the Confluence Habitat Enhancement environment for Project now in progress. fish and wildlife in Tryon Creek When completed, the project will create an improved near where it enters the environment for fish and wildlife at Tryon Creek and also Willamette make the park more pleasant for patrons. River. STAFF “It’s really wonderful,” said Stephanie Wagner, executive PHOTO / / LAKE director of Friends of Tryon Creek State Park. “It has been OSWEGO REVIEW planned for years.” One of the key goals of the effort, according to project manager Kristen Acock, is to create an off-channel habitat as refuge for fish during high flows and give them greater access to the natural area. Thus, the creek’s natural area, which is well suited for Coho salmon and steelhead production, will be enhanced. “This will give the fish some refuge from the Willamette River,” Acock said. The surrounding land will be improved, too. “They’re changing the whole grade, and there will be better connection between the creek and the land around it,” Wagner said. People who simply come to the park for enjoyment will also be pleased. “The land had been so degraded,” Wagner said. “It is nice to see it restored by bringing it back to its natural state. It will certainly look a lot prettier and people will have better access. The 645-acre Tryon Creek State Natural Area is co-owned by Metro, the cities of Lake Oswego and Portland. It is the only state park in Oregon located in a major metropolitan area. To Lake Oswego Mayor Jack Hoffman, this makes the current project especially crucial. “This is a great example of cooperation between the jurisdictions who own the land,” Hoffman said. “This is a great opportunity to coordinate together and rehabilitate a very important urban creek that is critical for the habitat of threatened species.” Another key part of the current project will be removing invasive plants and establishing native plant communities. This project is funded by the city of Portland Watershed Investment Fund, the Environmental Services Capital Improvement Program, the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.