The Scappoose Bay Watershed Council has been working on replacing failing culverts with improved fish passages since 2001. We have worked with a wide variety of partners to remove or replace 43 barriers, opening up over 57 miles of creeks and streams for fish access.
Fish passage corrections have been based primarily on the Comprehensive Assessment of Fish Passage Barriers in the Scappoose Bay Watershed (May 2001), as well as landowner interest and financial considerations. The comprehensive barrier assessment describes how barriers have a significant cumulative impact on fish habitat on most streams in the watershed, and used biological criteria and findings of the Scappoose Bay Watershed Assessment to prioritize barriers for each sub-watershed and for the watershed as a whole.
Cedar Creek Fish Passage Improvement
Along Cedar Creek there were two culverts that represent migration barriers during some flow conditions. The culverts were rapidly degrading and were likely to become a full barrier. The landowner wanted to remove the culverts and were interested in removing invasive species and restoring the riparian corridor along the creek.
300 feet of creek was planted with approximately 600 native plants. Some plant species that were planted:
- Cascara
- Western Red Cedar
- Pacific Crabapple
- Red Osier Dogwood
- Elderberry
- Grand fir
- Fringecup
- Indian Plum
- Vine Maple
- Nine Bark
- Ocean Spray
- Tall Oregon Grape
More Information
For more information contact the Scappoose Bay Watershed Council at 503-397-7904 or email: info@scappoosebay-wc.org.