From frogs to fish, beavers, and otters, our rivers are home to an incredible abundance of animals. Reconnecting our rivers to allow for water to slow and spread not only improves water quality and retention on the landscape but also provides important habitat for the beloved animals around us.
This fall, contractors worked on Green Island to restore connections between land and water. This latest swale reconnection project, funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, builds on years of investments in this area.
Beginning in the 1930s, Green Island was slowly converted to agricultural use. However, farming in an active
floodplain was not without challenges. Equipment often sunk into deep, wet soils, and ongoing flooding created issues. In the early 2000s, family matriarch Karen Green worked with the Trust and many partners to give the land back to the river.
Since purchasing the property in 2003, we have worked alongside our community to help make that vision a reality. We’ve removed more than 6 miles of levees and planted over a million trees and shrubs. Acre by acre, we’ve worked in partnership with the land and water here to do the hopeful work of seeding a forest for future generations to enjoy.
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283 Acres of Rare Oak and Prairie Habitat Protected Forever in Eugene’s Ridgeline Area
In early September McKenzie River Trust ensured the permanent protection of 243 acres of rare oak woodland and savanna habitat just outside Eugene, OR. The project builds on initial conservation efforts in 2022, which leveraged membership donations to protect 40 adjacent acres for fish and wildlife habitat. Long identified by area partners as a potential “anchor” site in the ridgeline area, the South Fork Spencer Creek conservation area builds on the City of Eugene’s open space protection efforts, contributing significant habitat to the wildlife corridor.
Growing Finn Rock Reach – 636 Acres Protected on the McKenzie River
McKenzie River Trust took a major step forward to safeguard our namesake river last week by purchasing 636 acres of former timberland in Finn Rock, OR. The protection project, which begins near the town of Blue River and ends near Nimrod, returns three parcels to a growing mosaic of conservation lands in the middle McKenzie River Valley.
245 Acres Protected Forever on the North Fork Siuslaw River
Efforts to protect estuarine wetlands in the lower Sisulaw River watershed got a big boost this month with the addition of 245 acres of conservation land. Protected through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy in Oregon and McKenzie River Trust, with support from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private donors, the area on the lower North Fork of the Siuslaw River provided the “missing piece of the puzzle” in a larger effort to promote a more resilient watershed through land protection and restoration activities.