News Release
| Release Number: | 00-157 |
| Dated: | 9/5/2000 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. – Coho and chinook salmon will have about 13 miles of improved spawning and rearing habitat in the Lower Columbia River thanks to the efforts of local citizens and the support of the federal government.
Beginning Sept. 8, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will remove a levee plug at the head of Westport Slough, near Clatskanie, Ore.. This will restore the connection between the Columbia River, Westport and Beaver sloughs, and the Clatskanie River watershed. A 12-foot by 8-foot culvert will replace the plug, which is part of a 1937 Corps project.
Pok Wan Contracting, Inc. of Corvallis, Ore., was awarded an equipment rental contract for $110,269 and will assist the Corps in the project. The project is being cost-shared by the Corps and the Columbia Soil and Water Conservation District, and is expected to be completed Sept. 15.
Westport Slough provides rearing and migration habitats for coho and chinook salmon. Tributaries to the slough provide rearing and spawning habitat for both salmonids. Winter steelhead salmon are in the Clatskanie River and could use Westport Slough during migration if there was a direct connection to the Clatskanie River. Warm-water fish also inhabit the slough.
Prior to construction in the 1930s, salmonids could move directly between the Slough and the Clatskanie River watersheds. Removing the plug will reconnect those watersheds. Cooler water from the Clatskanie River will reduce warm-water fish use in the upper slough, and provide improved conditions for anadromous salmon rearing. Reducing warm-water fish use of the slough also will improve habitat for anadromous fish.
Less than an acre of existing vegetation – grasses, forbs and alder – will be removed. Minor short-term increases in turbidity are expected during construction, but over the long-term, water quality in the slough will improve.
Restoration work will include: excavation of about 6,275 cubic yards (cy) of material; installation of a trapezoidal-shaped arch culvert; placement of riprap and bedding material on both sides of the culvert to prevent erosion on side slopes and the slough bottom; and replacing 1,170 cy of the excavated earth to backfill around the culvert and replace the roadbed above it.
That roadway, Point Adams Road, will be closed Sept. 11 to Sept. 15 while crews install the culvert. Also, a culvert closure structure is being provided to control flow during high water.
Westport Slough, an historic side channel of the Columbia River and part of the Lewis and Clark canoe trail, was plugged by the levee and later topped with a county road. The work was part of improvements authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936 to provide flood protection to agricultural lands. Restoring the connection between Beaver and Westport sloughs will provide free-flowing water from Beaver Slough and the Clatskanie and Columbia rivers without significant effects on water elevations in the slough. When water levels are appropriate, canoeists will be able to use the culvert to follow the Lewis and Clark canoe trail through the slough.
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Note to editors: Because this is an active construction site, reporters are asked to coordinate with the Corps' media representative, Matt Rabe (503-808-4510) in advance of visiting the site. All efforts will be made to arrange site visits at the reporter's convenience, while keeping in mind safety considerations.