2021 Annual Report – 25 Years of Watershed Restoration!

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For 25 years, the Hood River Watershed Group has been sustaining and improving the Hood River Watershed through education, cooperation, and stewardship. 2021 marked 25 years of restoration, conservation, and outreach for the Watershed Group, and with the completion of the Hood River Basin Partnership Strategic Action Plan (Watershed 2040) this year, we have a new 20-year scope of work that aims to restore aquatic habitat for the watershed’s anadromous and resident fish species. Restoration of fish habitat, stream flow, and water quality is the foundation of the plan, though much of this work will also strengthen the resiliency of our community and economy as climate change continues to impact stream flow, water temperature, and aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Watershed 2040 was developed by the Hood River Basin Partnership, which consists of nine core members, including the Hood River Watershed Group, the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, East Fork Irrigation District, Middle Fork Irrigation District, Farmers Irrigation District, the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. This partnership will be working together over the next 20 years to achieve the ambitious goals laid out in the plan.

We’re excited to begin work on Watershed 2040, and know that we need to engage the diverse and unique watershed community to be successful in this plan. We’ll be reaching out to you in the coming year to explore ways we can work together to be stewards of this incredible watershed.

Watch the Neal Creek Phase 1 Habitat Restoration Presentation

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Watch a recording of the Neal Creek Phase 1 Habitat Restoration Project presentation.

Neal Creek is an important clearwater (non-glacial) tributary to the lower Hood River, which provides habitat for threatened winter steelhead, threatened coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and resident rainbow trout. Over the past 100 years, numerous human activities have altered the Neal Creek Watershed through logging practices, relocating stream channels, and placing roads and buildings in its floodplain. This has resulted in stream channels with fewer pools, less spawning gravel and instream wood, and reduced side channel habitat. Fortunately, there are opportunities to restore sections of Neal Creek to provide better fish habitat and aid in the recovery of steelhead and coho.

The Hood River Watershed Group, in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and private landowners, has been developing a series of restoration projects along Neal Creek that aim to restore the ecological processes of the Neal Creek Watershed and ensure the health and viability of ESA-listed salmonid populations with the improvement of spawning, rearing, and overwintering habitat. The first phase of this work was completed in August of 2021 and restored approximately 1/2 mile and two acres of habitat by constructing six log jams, creating 14 pools, and adding over 100 logs back into Neal Creek.

The project was funded by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and Pacific Power Blue Sky Habitat Funds/The Freshwater Trust, and was designed by Parr Excellence. Alix Danielsen, the Hood River Watershed Group Restoration Project Manager, and Bill Norris, the project engineer with Parr Excellence, will provide an overview of the project and discuss future work planned along Neal Creek.