A Historical Reconstruction and Land Use History of Six Tidal Wetlands in Oregon March 2005 By Jennifer Taylor Hennessey Master's of Science Project Marine Resource Management College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 METHODOLOGY 15 SIUSLAW RESULTS & DISCUSSION 25 Background:General statistics, Site locations, Site specifics Historical Reconstruction- Landscape scale 27 Native Resource Use GLO/Army Corps surveys General history of resource use Transportation Fishing Hatcheries Agriculture Timber Other: Splash Damming, Jetties etc. Historical Reconstruction- Site Level 49 Deed & Land ownership info Historical Accounts Aerial photo narrative & quantitative scaling Field Observation Summary of Siuslaw 63 ALSEA RESULTS & DISCUSSION 65 Background:General statistics, Site locations, Site specifics Historical Reconstruction- Landscape scale 67 Native Resource Use GLO/Army Corps surveys General history of resource use Transportation Fishing Hatcheries Agriculture Timber Other: Splash Damming, Jetties etc. Historical Reconstruction- Site Level 88 Deed & Land ownership info Historical Accounts 1 PAGE ALSEA RESULTS & DISCUSSION (CONTINUED) Aerial photo narrative & quantitative scaling Field Observation Other evidence of impacts Summary of Alsea 99 YAQUINA RESULTS & DISCUSSION 102 Background:General statistics, Site locations, Site specifics Historical Reconstruction- Landscape Level 104 Native Resource Use GLO/Army Corps surveys General history of resource use Transportation Fishing Hatcheries Agriculture Timber Other: Splash Damming, Jetties etc. Historical Reconstruction- Site Level 124 Deed & Land ownership info Historical Accounts Aerial photo narrative & quantitative scaling Field Observation Other evidence of impacts Summary of Yaquina 136 CONCLUSION 139 APPENDICES 157 REFERENCES 159 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee and academic advisors: Dan Bottom, Ron Doe! and Tony D'Andrea for their time, energy, and guidance in completing this project. In addition, this project would not have been possible without the resources, support and assistance of the following people and organizations: Paul Adamus, Alisa Bieber, Trevan Cornwell, Dave Hering, Russell Scranton, Laura Brophy, Mark Lewis, Pearl Campbell, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences-Oregon State University, University of Oregon (Map Library), Oregon State University (Valley Library, archives), US Army Corps of Engineers Technical Library (Portland, OR), Lincoln County Historical Society, Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, Lincoln County Assessors Office, Lane County Assessors Office & Records Division, Lane County Surveyors Office, Lincoln County Surveyors Office, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Service. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family, particularly my parents, Don and Jean Taylor, and my husband, Ethan Hennessey, whose patience, encouragement, and financial support made this effort possible. 3 Introduction This Master's Degree project is intended to document historical ecological conditions and land use histories during the past 150 years for selected Oregon watersheds and tidal wetland sites. The sites are the subject of current research into the ability of tidal wetlands to provide rearing habitat and prey for juvenile salmonids. Six reference marshes were selected for an on- going study by Bottom, Jones, Simenstad, and others into the use of tidal wetlands by juvenile salmonids (Gray et al. 2002, Comwell et al. 2001). Their project compares upper and lower estuary wetlands on three Oregon coastal river systems: the Alsea, the Siuslaw, and the Yaquina. These sites were chosen because they represent relatively undisturbed remaining tidal wetlands and are similar in vegetation and landscape position. In addition, the sites met the comparative and logistical needs for the study. In order to manage vital resources such as estuaries, tidal wetlands, and watersheds, it is imperative to understand their history and how they may have changed over time. This Masters project attempts to provide data on the linkage between human induced changes to the physical characteristics of estuaries, tidal wetlands, and watersheds and the resulting impact on the functioning of tidal wetlands. Estuaries represent unique and important ecosystems. They provide habitat for fish and wildlife, such as salmon, steelhead, and migrating waterfowl (Good 1999), and are home to a large number of endangered and threatened species. More than 70 species of juvenile fish are known to utilize Oregon estuaries for foraging (Restore 2002). Other important functions estuaries provide include pollution absorption, floodwater retention, slope stabilization, sediment trapping, and nutrient retention (Good 1999, Josselyn et al. 1990). They also provide recreational opportunities, aesthetic values, and functions that serve economic sectors such as fisheries. 4 There are several important habitats within estuaries in the Pacific Northwest including subtidal habitats, tidal wetlands (e.g. low and high salt marsh), tidal flats with eelgrass and algal beds, and tidal swamps (dominated by spruce, willow and alder) (Good 1999). Compared to other ecosystems throughout the world, tidal marshes are one of the most productive (Mitsch and Gosselink 2000, Restore 2002). By definition, tidal marshes' are inundated by tidal waters at least once a month. These unique ecosystems are subject to varying water and salinity levels on a daily basis, making them an area of environmental stress, as well as home to unique plant and habitat types. Tidal marshes provide a variety of important functions such as reduction of flood levels, retention of sediment, nutrient processing, wildlife habitat, and fish habitat (Brophy 1999). Specifically, wildlife such as waterfowl, shorebirds, a variety of fish species, and land mammals such as elk and beaver utilize tidal marsh habitat (Mitsch and Gosselink 2000). Tidal marshes and their channels provide rearing habitat for coho and Chinook salmon (Simenstad et al. 2000, Gray et al. 2002, Restore 2002, Brophy 1999). The cultural, economic, and ecological importance of salmon has made its recovery critical in the Northwest. Recent research has found that salmon use not only mature marshes, but also those that have been recently restored. A study comparing salmonids in natural and created sloughs on the Chehalis River, Washington found no significant difference in growth rates or diet composition, but did find that fish residing in natural marshes had more food in their stomachs (Miller and Simenstad 1997). Work by Gray et al. (2000) in the Salmon River, Oregon found the highest densities of juvenile Chinook in the mature reference marsh and a trend of increasing fish abundance with increasing age of marsh recovery. However, the study also found a significant fish and invertebrate response in the first two to three years after restoration. According to the 1The terms "tidal wetland" and "tidal marsh" will be used interchangeably throughout this paper to encompass both low and high wetland habitats that are inundated by tidal waters roughly once per month. 5 researchers, this "pulse of productivity" indicates some early level of functionality returning and thus, also supports the "efficacy of restoring estuarine marshes for juvenile salmon habitat" (Gray et al. 2002). Unfortunately tidal wetlands have been highly altered and degraded by Euro-American development. In Oregon, as in many other places a century ago, settlers viewed tidal marshes as wastelands that needed improvement (Robbins 1997). Thus, these areas were often diked, ditched, and drained for use as pasture or agriculture. Another popular use was filling for development or dredging for shipping. Population pressures in the Pacific Northwest over the past 50 years have exacerbated this habitat degradation. Between 1950 and 1990, the urban population in Tacoma-Seattle areas of Washington grew 85%, while Oregon's less urbanized population grew by just under 60% (Josselyn et al. 1990). As a result, more than 70 percent of tidal wetlands in the Puget Sound have been lost in the past century (Restore 2002). In general higher losses correspond to more dense populations. Yet along Oregon's coast, where populations are less dense, the Nestucca and Coquille have lost over 90 percent of their tidal wetlands (Good 1999); Tillamook Bay has lost 85 percent of marshlands to diking and draining; and South Slough National Research Reserve has less than 10 percent of original salt marsh remaining (Restore 2002).2 Losses for the Oregon coastal estuaries covered by this project were estimated at 59 percent in the Alsea, 63 percent in the Siuslaw, and 71 percent in the Yaquina (Good 1999). Efforts by state and federal governments in the 1980s and early 1990s focused on mitigating damage from development under a "no-net-loss" policy for wetlands. However, recent attention in the Northwest has been directed towards reversing habitat degradation through restoration, rather than merely mitigating for additional losses (Good 1999; Restore 2002). 2Good's (1999) estimates for loss used the 1970 estimates for wetland area from the Oregon Estuary Plan Book (Cortright et al. 1987). Good derived the 1870 estimate of wetland area by adding the area of filled and diked land in the estuary to the 1970 estimates. 6 The aim of restoration is to restore functions such as biological productivity, sediment retention, and nutrient transformation