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Cruiser Creek

Culvert
Riparian
Salmon
Water Quality
Salmonids

Progress

Step 5 graphic
  1. Pre-assessment
  2. Project Design
  3. Construction Started
  4. Construction Finished
  5. Monitoring Active

Partnership Success: Restoring Salmon Habitat in Cruiser Creek

In 2005, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP) initiated a ground-breaking salmon habitat enhancement project within the Tillamook Bay (Oregon) watershed. Straddling ODF and BLM land in the Cruiser Creek drainage, the project marked the first BLM-ODF restoration partnership within the region.  Three Cruiser Creek tributaries had undersized, perched culverts blocking salmon migration. Several additional streams also limited salmonid production due to diminished instream complexity and poor wood recruitment potential.  To address these issues, project partners replaced three culverts, enhanced 1 ½ miles of instream habitat, decommissioned 3.35 miles of forest roads, and planted five acres of riparian vegetation.

Post-project salmon rearing surveys revealed greater coho abundance than at any other location on the north Oregon coast.  But the salmon numbers tell only a part of the story.  The project, which received attention from a Portland news station, demonstrated the restoration potential that exists when the two agencies collaborate.  By creating a new management model in which a third party (TEP) managed a project spanning their lands, ODF and BLM were better able to leverage the other’s financial and technical contributions to meet the project’s $200,000 price tag.  In addition, TEP could ensure that the standards and practices unique to each landowner were fully met while reducing their administrative burdens.  All project partners (and the coho!) look forward to future opportunities.

Project Details

Cost

$190,000

Notes

Construction Completed: 2005

Partners: Tillamook Estuaries Partnership coordinated efforts among Oregon Department of Forestry, and Bureau of Land Management. Other partners included Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Tillamook Bay Watershed Council, Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, OWEB, Tillamook County Future’s Council, and Tillamook Native Plant Cooperative.

Scroll Down for the 2024 Project update

Before and after large woody debris placement on Cruiser Creek

Looking down stream at large logs placed over a small stream the sides of the stream have lush foliage and the gravel is high in the middle of the stream Looking down stream at large logs placed over a small stream the sides of the stream have lush foliage and the gravel is high in the middle of the stream. Now multiple logs can be seen placed across the stream

Large Woody Debris (LWD) placements play a key role in creating better habitat for salmon. By altering the river’s flow, LWD provides hiding spots and areas of slower-moving water where salmon can rest. These placements also help shade the water, keeping it cool, and serve as a home for macroinvertebrates—a favorite food of juvenile salmon.

 

Images by Russ

log placed across moving stream with rocks in the middle of the stream. Small gravel can be seen at the bottom of the stream and the water pools below the log.

large Woody Debris Placement

Successful gravel accumulation and habitat development

One year after the project gravel accumulation could already be seen. Gravel is important for spawning salmon because they use it to create their redd (kind of like a nest) to lay their eggs. The image also shows great habitat for juvenile salmon in the formed pools.

Image By Oregon Department of Forestry

Before and after culvert replacement on Cruiser Creek

Image of old culvert. Culvert is in the stream bank below the road and is small and metal and about 1 foot above the water level. Culvert is surrounded by plants and leaves. The new culver is three times the size of the old one and reaches the water in a high water event. green foliage has been cleared away and the road has been stabilized with large gravel. Water flows through the culvert.

Culvert replacements are an important part of improving fish passage. Larger culverts that allow water to flow through them let salmon swim

Images by ODF

2024 Project Update: Lasting Impacts of Restoration in TIllamook’s Watersheds

TEP teamed up with Oregon Sea Grant to hire a Natural Resource Policy Fellow, Alyssa Purslow, to analyze the impacts of historic restoration projects on Tillamook County’s watersheds. Check out her 1-pager on Cruiser Creek.

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