STATE OF THE SANDY STATE OF THE SANDY 2 STATE OF THE SANDY - October 2017 THE SANDY UNDAMMED: A Dramatic View of a River and its Wild Salmon in Recovery Removal of the Marmot dam from the Sandy River How human communities connect around in 2007 opened a remarkable chapter in the life of stewardship, the river’s role as water source and this iconic Pacific Northwest river. Dramatic and as a well loved recreation haven. unprecedented in its scale and complexity, dam Finally, we’ll look at future opportunities to further removal was a pivotal leap, and only the first major secure the Sandy’s incredible ecological and step toward realizing the Sandy’s potential as a social legacy, and challenges we may yet need to wild salmon stronghold. overcome to sustain the watershed’s wild fish and Undamming the Sandy allowed threatened wild biodiversity for future generations. salmon and steelhead uninterrupted access to upstream spawning habitat for the first time in nearly a century. It also catalyzed a coordinated, The Sandy is emerging science-driven push to boost ecological processes as a remarkable success that help return the watershed’s wild fish to sustainable levels. Historic impacts besides story in the making, a dams had also reduced habitat productivity in tribute to the resiliency key areas. For wild fish to thrive the Sandy would need corridors of functioning floodplains and of rivers and the power of side channels, healthy streamside vegetation, and voluntary collaboration. a committed community ready to care for the watershed in the long run. Expert analyses point to indications that dam A decade beyond removal of Marmot, and removal and focused restoration are moving Little Sandy dam a year later, initial results of the Sandy in a renewed direction. As the ripples this conservation campaign are emerging. The clear from this groundbreaking effort to return collaborative restoration toward wild fish recovery a wild river to health, the Sandy is emerging as in the Sandy River basin has taken major strides. a remarkable success story in the making. It is a The following State of the Sandy reviews key tribute to the resiliency of rivers and the power changes since dam removal, summarizing the of voluntary collaboration. We thank the many Sandy’s progress in three main areas: thousands of individuals and organizations who have joined this effort already, and encourage you Priority restoration actions accomplished on the to help extend the Sandy’s ecological connectivity ground; and integrity for decades to come. Numbers of adult and juvenile salmon returning to the Sandy and its tributaries; and SANDY RIVER BASIN WATERSHED COUNCIL 3 STATE OF THE SANDY Dam Removal and Basin-wide Restoration in the Sandy Removal of dams from the Sandy River basin reversed a historic trajectory for the basin that (and Marmot began when Portland General Electric (PGE) Sandy dam removal) completed the Bull Run Hydropower complex in 1913. The 47-foot high Marmot dam diverted flow by the Numbers from the Sandy River, 30 miles from its mouth on the Columbia River. A tunnel excavated through a Completion date for the mountain (historically called the Devil’s Backbone Bull Run Hydropower because of the difficulty immigrants faced hauling 1913 project, including Marmot wagons and gear over it on the Oregon Trail) and Little Sandy dams carried diverted water into the Little Sandy River, a tributary of the Bull Run. The Little Sandy dam completely dewatered the stream, sending it along Marmot dam removed 2007 Little Sandy dam removed miles of flume on a train-like wooden trestle to a 2008 reservoir, then into a powerhouse along the lower Bull Run. PGE built the dams to bring electricity to the growing city of Portland 20 miles east, also Stream miles in the main stem Sandy powering a trolley line that brought city dwellers 56 for boating and swimming at the reservoir, called used by salmon and steelhead Roslyn Lake. The dam generated about 22 MW 220 of electricity, enough to power about 16500 total in the basin modern homes. In the late 1980s a concrete layer 680 was added to the original earthen structure to cubic yards of strengthen the Marmot dam. sediment released when Marmot dam For thousands of years the Sandy and tributaries 955,000 was removed have been home to vibrant runs of wild salmon and steelhead. The Marmot and Little Sandy dams interrupted the annual fish migration, despite operation of fish passage to move migrating adults upstream. By the late 1980s, the 44 Sandy’s native spring and fall Chinook, coho, and Rare, Threatened, steelhead populations were all declining. Wild and Endangered fish throughout the Columbia basin were listed Species known in as threatened under the Endangered Species Act the Sandy Yellow-billed cuckoo 4 STATE OF THE SANDY - October 2017 Restoring Fish Habitat in the Sandy River Basin Restoring Fish Habitat in a Salmon Stronghold Sandrouty Ridalvere Delta Dam Troutdale River Run Gordon Creek Bull Bull Run Bull Run Reservoir #1 Reservoir #2 Bull Run Lake Little Sandy Dam Marmot Dam Sandy Sandy River MT HOOD 11,250 ft Restoration Activities by Type iver riparian Planting, invasive species removal, R Over 120 projects have been ag riparian fencing Zigz Government completed in the basin since 1997. Camp Of the fishinstream species living Largein the wood basin placement,, channel alteration Chinook Salmon, Coho and Steelhead combined Multiple activies, including road and wetland Sa are listed under ther Endangered Species lm improvement on Act at the federal level. River upland Grazing,ve irrigationr and invasive plant control Ri Lower Bull Run River (10) bia Note: One project can occurlum in fish passage CCulverto replacement and dam removal multiple locations on the mapGordon and Creek (5) may have taken place over several Little Sandy River (7) years, or be ongoing. LOWER SANDY Priority Subbasins Upper Sandy (4) BULL RUN er Beaver Creek (11) iv ia R Lower Bull Run River (10) Restoration Activitiesm bby Type Zigzag River (9) olu CLittle Sandy Dam b Gordon Creek (5) Mt. inTroutstream Creek (8) PlMarmanot Damtingb , invasive species removalL,i ttrleip Saarndyia HoodRnive rfe (7)ncing UPPER SANDY riparian LargeMIDDLE wood SANDY placement and channel alteration LOWER SANDY Sandy River Over 120 projects have been completed in the combinMainsteedm Corridor (1) Multiple activities, including road and Uwepper tlSaandndy (4 )improvement BULL RUN basin since 1997 (above). Of the fish species living upland Grazing, irrigation, and invasive pZIGZlantAG control Beaver Creek (11) Alder & Wildcat Creeks (6) in the basin, Chinook Salmon, Coho and Steelhead Zigzag River (9) fish passage are listed under the Endangered Species Act at the Dam removal, culvert replacement Mt. Trout Creek (8) Salmon River (2) Hood federal level. SALMONUP RPEIVERR SANDY MIDDLE SANDY Note: One project can occur in multiple locations $ 010Miles Sandy River on the map and may have taken place over several Mainstem Corridor (1) ZIGZStAGill Creek (3) years, or may be ongoing. Alder & Wildcat Creeks (6) Sandy River Basin Partners analyzed which areas represent anchor habitat (left), ranking those with Salmon River (2) SALMON RIVER the highest potential for salmon and steelhead. The main stem Sandy River, Salmon River and Still Creek (shown in bright green) gained top priority. Still Creek (3) SANDY RIVER BASIN WATERSHED COUNCIL 5 First phase of Marmot Today Marmot is a year deconstruction in July 2007. round recreational resource. (ESA) in 1998-99. Sandy populations had dropped with the river diverted by a temporary earthen by this time to 10-25% of their historic levels. coffer dam built behind the once permanent Marmot. On October 19, 2007, as calculated in Faced with a requirement to comply with the ESA dam removal plans, a seasonal storm rose with and its prohibition to harm listed species, PGE enough force to wash away the temporary dam. weighed its options to renew its federal license. An excavator cut a small notch in the coffer dam, Continued operation of the dam would require releasing first a trickle and then a roaring torrent. constructing and operating fish passage. They Approximately 19 hours later, the entire structure would need both a ladder for spawning adults was washed away. The Sandy flowed free for the to safely return upstream, and a means to safely first time in 94 years. move migrating juveniles downstream across the dam. Recognizing that dam removal would cost customers less in the long run, PGE committed in Restoration Results: 1999 to voluntarily removing Marmot and Little Sandy dams, and their associated infrastructure. Piling on Priority Actions Planning for the physical dam removal took several through Collaboration, years. A coalition of agencies and conservation Partnership, Persistence groups consulted with the utility on the terms and process under which PGE would withdraw The decision to remove dams from the Sandy its hydropower license. No such surrender of catalyzed a broad, collaborative restoration a license had occurred before, so the extent of campaign that leverages efforts across two responsibility for river conditions once the dam counties, dozen of organizations and thousands removed had to be defined. PGE eventually agreed of volunteers. Motivated by the prospect of a free to dismantle the dams, transfer related water flowing Sandy, a group of public and nonprofit rights to the state as instream rights, donate agencies formed the Sandy River Basin Partners much of the project’s land to public ownership, (SRBP) in 1999. Also around that time, the Portland prevent invasives from colonizing those lands, and Water Bureau developed a long term plan to monitoring river conditions for several years. comply with the ESA listings and habitat impacts from the water supply dams and operation in the Deconstruction at Marmot began in summer 2007, Bull Run.