Mt. Hood National Forest Wild and Scenic River Analysis User
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United States Department of Agriculture User Capacity Report Mt. Hood National Forest Wild and Scenic River Analysis 2019 Forest Service Report prepared by: Elizabeth (Sousa) Whitt, Recreational Specialist Finalized January 23, 2020 For More Information Contact: Jennifer Watts, Public Services Staff Officer 16400 Champion Way Sandy, OR 97055 [email protected] 503-668-1795 Or Elizabeth Whitt [email protected] 775-276-2876 We make every effort to create documents that are accessible to individuals of all abilities; however, limitations with our word processing programs may prevent some parts of this document from being readable by computer-assisted reading devices. If you need assistance with any part of this document, please contact the Mt. Hood National Forest at 503-668-1795. 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Hood National Forest Wild and Scenic River Analysis Introduction _____________________________________________________________________________ 1 Background ___________________________________________________________________________ 1 Management Direction and Desired Condition ___________________________________________ 4 User Capacity ___________________________________________________________________________ 4 Estimating User Capacity ______________________________________________________________ 5 Collawash River - Segment 1 __________________________________________________________ 10 Collawash River - Segment 2 __________________________________________________________ 14 Eagle Creek __________________________________________________________________________ 18 East Fork Hood River _________________________________________________________________ 22 Fifteenmile Creek ____________________________________________________________________ 27 Fish Creek ___________________________________________________________________________ 32 Middle Fork Hood River _______________________________________________________________ 36 South Fork Clackamas River ___________________________________________________________ 39 South Fork Roaring River ______________________________________________________________ 43 Zigzag River _________________________________________________________________________ 47 Summary of all Rivers _________________________________________________________________ 52 Future Recreation Demand and Trends ___________________________________________________ 52 References ____________________________________________________________________________ 55 Appendix A ____________________________________________________________________________ 57 Appendix B ____________________________________________________________________________ 60 Appendix C ____________________________________________________________________________ 64 i User Capacity Report, Mt. Hood National Forest Wild and Scenic River Analysis Introduction Several steps were taken over the planning process in order to reach the final user capacity numbers identified in this report. With little known use in most of the nine rivers, field data was needed in order to assess the current visitor use within the river corridors and the impacts associated with that use. Some areas do not have river- related use, and a few locations were known to have river-specific use, but all in all, there was minimal information about visitor use within the river corridors. The rivers were first put through an initial capacity ranking system which outlined whether further studies were needed to address any current or potential user capacity concerns. In this initial step, three of the rivers were found to not have any user capacity concerns, therefore, in depth surveying was not needed. The other six rivers were found to have a moderate need to address user capacity along those corridors, therefore, more information was needed. To further decipher potential impacts to the outstandingly remarkable values along these six rivers, an evaluation team defined current and potential impact locations as well as use types per river that may be of concern to the outstandingly remarkable values. From these two initial steps, a survey protocol was designed and field data was collected. The survey data reports areas of concern and known impact locations which helped guide the development of this report. No major capacity concerns were reported along any of the rivers visited over the summer of 2018. The user capacity estimates for each river are well over the current visitor use recorded and are not anticipated to meet or exceed the defined numbers unless otherwise noted in the report. This report will summarize the user capacity for each river as well as describe the indicators and thresholds for each river value and will inform the Comprehensive River Management Plan. Background In 2009, nine rivers/streams on the Mt. Hood National Forest were designated as additions to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (123 Stat. 991, P.L. 111-11). The Omnibus Act designated approximately 84 miles of wild and scenic rivers across Mt. Hood National Forest (the forest) on the Barlow, Hood River, Clackamas, and Zigzag Ranger Districts. These designated rivers include the Collawash River, Eagle Creek, East Fork Hood River, Fifteenmile Creek, Fish Creek, Middle Fork Hood River, South Fork Clackamas River, South Fork Roaring River, and Zigzag River. A summary of these designated segments is described in table 1 as well as the vicinity map in figure 1. These designated segments were classified as wild, recreational and scenic by Congress in the Omnibus Act (table 1). As described in Section 2(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (the Act), a wild, scenic or recreational river is defined as follows: • Wild River: A river or segment of a river that is free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted. These represent vestiges of primitive America. • Scenic River: A river or segment of a river that is free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads. • Recreational River: A river or segment of a river that is readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development along its shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past. 1 User Capacity Report, Mt. Hood National Forest Wild and Scenic River Analysis The River Values Report for Nine Wild and Scenic Rivers on Mt. Hood National Forest (July 2019) describes the values for which each river was added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, which include free flow, water quality and outstandingly remarkable values—collectively referred to as river values. The report documented which scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values within each wild and scenic river segment met the standard for outstandingly remarkable values. It is important to identify the outstandingly remarkable values because the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires the administering agency to protect and enhance the river’s free-flowing condition, water quality and its outstandingly remarkable values. Protecting and enhancing the free-flow condition, water quality, and outstandingly remarkable values become the basis for managing the wild and scenic river corridor. In addition, these river values will be the cornerstone of a Comprehensive River Management Plan, Table 1. Summary of designated segments Designated Segment Description Miles Classification Collawash River Segment 1: Headwaters of the East Fork Collawash River to 12.9 Scenic Buckeye