A conservation group in Springfield has won $8.5 million in federal funding, which will pay for floodplain restorations along the Willamette River and its tributaries.
The plan is to reconnect waterways in the Upper Willamette Basin to several of their historic offshoots and side-channels. The McKenzie Watershed Alliance is receiving federal dollars on behalf of its partners in the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network.
Jared Weybright is the Alliance’s Executive Director. He said human development has simplified the state’s rivers, preventing some beneficial flooding.
“Restoring the flow is a way to then support natural processes that are going to create habitat over time, and maintain it for native species,” said Weybright. “[This] can help with groundwater and water quality as well, benefitting not only the species but also surrounding communities.”
Weybright said this work will help protect several at-risk species, including the Spring Chinook Salmon, the Northwestern Pond Turtle, the Bull Trout, and the Pacific lamprey.
About half of the money will go towards efforts on the South Fork McKenzie River to reconnect an estimated 340 acres of floodplains. Weybright said he expects all of the restoration projects to be complete by 2027.
The funding comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The federal agency also gave $8.1 million to the Wild Salmon Center in Portland, for a plan to protect Oregon Coast Coho Salmon.
Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley praised both allotments in a joint press release with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle.
“Oregon’s native fish are the lifeblood of our state, supporting the health and vitality of our communities, local economies, and Tribes who have been here since time immemorial,” said Merkley.
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