Clackamas River Basin Action Plan Clackamas River Basin Council Clackamas, Oregon 2005 Clackamas River Basin Action Plan Clackamas River Basin Council Clackamas, Oregon 2005 Prepared By: Boise, Idaho www.watershednet.com Steve Bauer, Ed Salminen, John Runyon Editors Note: Supporting maps and appendices are provided in electronic format on a CD Rom. Contact the Watershed Coordinator of the Clackamas River Basin Council for availability. http://www.clackamasriver.org/ Clackamas Basin Action Plan Page ii Acknowledgements Developing the Clackamas River Basin Action Plan was truly a team process requiring the dedicated involvement of many people. Financial and technical support from the Clackamas River Water Providers and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board made this project possible. Thanks to Sunrise Water Authority, Oak Lodge Water District, Clackamas River Water, South Fork Water Board and the cities of Estacada, Milwaukie and Lake Oswego who provide drinking water to over 200,000 people with water from the Clackamas River. Great appreciation goes to the entire Clackamas River Basin Council, Board of Directors, who participated in and supported the development of the Action Plan. Many individuals participated on technical committees; the Water Quality Technical Advisory Committee, Fisheries Technical Advisory Committee, and the Outreach and Education Technical Team. Their involvement made the Action Plan possible and their effort is very much appreciated. CRBC Council staff, Michael Carlson and Jo Anne Dolan, deserve special mention for their leadership and many contributions throughout this process. Committee participants and reviewers included: Andrew Gilford, Clackamas High School Jamie Damon, Jeanne Lawson and CRBC Associates Andrew Swanson, Clackamas County Jan Lee, CRBC WES Jeffrie Kee, Clackamas County SWCD Bernadette Graham-Hudson, ODFW Jim Morgan, METRO Bob Bergamini, USFS Jim Rice, USFS Bob Storer, Clackamas County WES Jo Anne Dolan, CRBC Bruce Hemenway, South Fork Water John Gardiner, Water Cycle Board Karen Williams, ODEQ Clair Klock, Clackamas County SWCD Kris Homma, NRCS Christine Perala, Water Cycle Kurt Carpenter, US Geological Survey Dave Roberts, BLM Lori Hennings, Metro Dick Jones, CRBC Lowell Hanna, CRBC Duane Karstens, CRW Mark Mouser, Clackamas County Doug Cramer, PGE Department of Transportation Ela Whelan, CRBC Michael Carlson, CRBC Elizabeth Carlson, Oak Lodge Water Mike McCord, Oregon Water Resources Gilbert Shibley, CRBC Niki Iverson, Sunrise Water Authority; Gordon McGhee, Clackamas River Rick Gruen, Clackamas County SWCD Water Stacy Renfro, SWRP Greg Ciannella, CRBC Tim Shibahara, PGE Hilda Stevens, WES Todd Alsbury,ODFW Ivars Steinblums, USFS Torrey Lindbo, SWRP Tom Horning, USFS Clackamas Basin Action Plan Page iii Executive Summary The nine hundred square mile Clackamas River Basin is located in Clackamas and Marion Counties, Oregon. The Clackamas River is a part of the Willamette River, an important river system for anadromous fish and other natural resources within the Columbia River Basin. The Clackamas River supplies high-quality drinking water to over 200,000 people and supports significant wild runs of anadromous salmon while supporting thriving agriculture, recreation and other industries. The lower watersheds are experiencing significant population growth generated by the proximity to the city of Portland. The Clackamas River Basin Council (Council) developed this Action Plan to provide a framework for the Council and its partners to work together cooperatively to protect and restore the Clackamas Basin’s valuable natural resources. The Council is comprised of twenty one diverse member groups representing water providers, agriculture, forestry, environmental interests, streamside landowners, local governments and state and federal natural resource agencies and others. An initial step in the Action Plan was to evaluate what is known about the natural resources of the Clackamas Basin by developing Basin Summaries that describe and evaluate the watershed resources, water quality, water quantity, and fish and wildlife populations and their habitats. The Basin Summary builds on natural resource studies, watershed assessments, and previous planning that has been completed in the basin. The Basin Summaries identified the key limiting factors and issues for fish, wildlife and water resources. These challenges to natural resources are organized by watersheds that are grouped within ten geographic areas. The Lower Clackamas Basin contains a substantial agricultural and forest resource base under private ownership that is experiencing rapid population growth. The key challenges in the lower basin are to improve water quality impacted by nutrients, bacteria, pesticides, and high water temperatures, restore aquatic and riparian habitats, and restore/protect wildlife habitat and migratory corridors. Strategies to meet these challenges are described in the Action Plan at the basin and watershed scale. The Action Plan identifies sixteen key strategies to address these challenges including riparian, wetland and channel restoration, aquatic habitat improvement, fish passage, agricultural and urban management practices, and education and outreach initiatives. Where feasible, specific actions to implement these strategies are described at the subwatershed or stream reach scale. The Upper Clackamas Basin is primarily managed by US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as forestland. Key challenges in the upper basin are associated primarily with legacy effects of past land management practices on stream channels, aquatic habitats, and riparian zones. Key strategies to restore these areas are reconnecting side channels of the river, addressing road network impacts on stream systems, and implementing management practices that minimize sediment runoff. The Mainstem of the Clackamas River has been altered by past land management practices and the effect of major dams. The Action Plan identifies a number of opportunities to reconnect side Clackamas River Basin Action Plan Page iv channels, restore instream aquatic habitats, and restore and protect floodplain forests and riparian areas. The Action Plan and supporting documents provide a framework for addressing water quality, aquatic habitat and other natural resource challenges; however, it is not a static document. The Review and Revision schedule describes the suggested frequency for updating the plan. Many of the actions described in this document require further refinement prior to implementation. An Action Plan Database was developed to assist in updating the individual action descriptions, and provide a basis for project implementation and reporting. Clackamas River Basin Action Plan Page v Clackamas River Basin Action Plan Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 ACTION PLAN GOALS AND OBJECTIVES........................................................................... 3 2.0 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................... 6 2.1 PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SETTING .............................................................................. 6 2.2 BASINWIDE ASSESSMENT................................................................................................. 8 2.3 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PLANNING EFFORTS ................................................................ 9 2.4 CRBC PARTNERS AND FUNDING SOURCES .................................................................... 10 2.4.1 GENERAL PROGRAMS AND FUNDING SOURCES.......................................................... 12 2.4.2 AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS....................................................................................... 13 2.4.3 URBAN LANDSCAPE................................................................................................... 15 3.0 BASINWIDE STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS............................................................ 22 3.1 CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES AT THE BASIN SCALE ................................................... 24 3.2 RECOMMENDED BASINWIDE STRATEGIES...................................................................... 27 3.3 CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES IN MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS ................................... 29 3.3.1 MAINSTEM CLACKAMAS RIVER................................................................................. 29 3.3.2 LOWER BASIN ............................................................................................................ 32 3.3.3 UPPER BASIN ............................................................................................................. 34 3.3.4 WATER QUALITY FOCUS - AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL RESIDENTIAL LANDS.......... 36 3.3.5 WATER QUALITY FOCUS - URBAN LANDSCAPE ......................................................... 38 3.3.6 FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT.................................................................................... 40 3.3.7 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH......................................................................... 42 3.4 KEY CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES ............................................................................. 47 3.5 PRIORITIES ..................................................................................................................... 50 3.5.1 GEOGRAPHIC PRIORITIES ..........................................................................................