McKenzie River Restoration
Investing in a healthy watershed for the fish, wildlife, and people of western Oregon.
A River Through Time
Throughout the pacific northwest, our rivers hold a dynamic legacy of pristine water, abundant salmon runs and breathtaking views. Throughout their history, these rivers, and the people who settled along their banks, have also shaped the west as we know it today. Before the railroad arrived in the early 1900’s, Oregon’s rivers served as the primary transportation route for timber and agricultural goods. By the 1940’s, the power of these wild rivers began to provide economic growth in the form of hydropower. Through the many events that have unfolded between colonization of the west by white settlers and the first Environmental Protection Act signed in 1970, people have re-shaped, and redefined what it means to be a wild river.
Photo Courtesy of Tim Giraudier- Beautiful Oregon
Restoring Rivers in the Upper Willamette Watershed
Since 2006, McKenzie River Trust has implemented dozens of river-based restoration projects. Each project addressed negative human impacts by allowing for more natural movement of water across the floodplain. These projects take place in areas where there will be no negative impacts to neighboring lands, commerce, or recreation and all include intensive hydrologic modeling and engineering before implementation. At Finn Rock Reach, our work is based on restoring riverine processes through following the model of a rivers natural lifecycle.
Why do rivers need restoration?
In their natural state, rivers in wide valleys like the middle McKenzie are dynamic and messy. They have many channels and lots of wood, beaver dams, and wetlands. Here, water moves slowly, leaving sediment, nutrients, and seeds that all contribute to a healthy environment. These natural river valleys create a lot of important resources for fish and wildlife to thrive in!
When river valleys are changed by humans, land use practices like levee, road, and dam construction, floodplain development, and removal of wood and beavers can quickly turn these wide, slow-moving river-wetland complexes into high-energy channels that no longer provide quality habitat for fish and wildlife.
Restoration efforts along the McKenzie River are designed to give the river plenty of space to move around, to slow the water down again, and to recreate the wild, messy habitat created by large wood. This work often requires heavy machinery to move sediment and wood across the valley. When finished, these projects enhance water quality and quantity, buffer against wildfires, floods, and drought, and revive the natural habitats for plants, animals, and people to benefit from.
Powers PD, Helstab M, Niezgoda SL “A process-based approach to restoring depositional river valleys to Stage 0, an anastomosing channel network”. 2018
Restoration Project Goals
- Enhance water quality
- Support fire resiliency in the landscape
- Buffer against flood impacts
- Improve McKenzie River fisheries
- Provide important rearing habitat for salmon, bull trout, Pacific lamprey and other species
- Restore natural channels and wetlands along the McKenzie River
Project Partners & Funders
Restoration News
KLCC, October 2021
Think Outloud, OPB September 2021
The Register-Guard September 2021
Eugene Weekly September 2021
KEZI News October 2020
The Register-Guard October 2020
Partners Resume Restoration on the Siuslaw River Estuary
Partners from the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, the Siuslaw Watershed Council, and McKenzie River Trust are preparing for a second season of restoration on the Siuslaw River at Waite Ranch. Beginning in summer 2023, the tidal restoration project is working to return around 200 acres of estuarine wetlands to the Siuslaw River system.
Celebrating 20 Years at Green Island
In 2023, McKenzie River Trust celebrated the 20th anniversary of the purchase of Green Island. This celebration gave us time to pause and reflect on the many hands who have helped us to put love into the land and the incredible story of how people came together to restore nearly a thousand acres of land where the McKenzie and Willamette rivers meet.
Salmon Return to Revived McKenzie River Habitats
Chinook salmon making their way back up the McKenzie River have found more places to lay their eggs thanks to years of work restoring floodplains throughout the watershed.
Partners Complete Multi-Year Floodplain Restoration Project at Finn Rock Reach
Three years after the Holiday Farm fire burned more than 173,000 acres in the McKenzie River valley, partners are celebrating the completion of floodplain restoration work at Finn Rock Reach. Beginning in the summer of 2021, restoration activities have included reshaping nearly 90 acres of floodplain forest and returning the area back to aquatic habitat along the Middle McKenzie River.
Partners Break Ground on Tidal Wetland Restoration Project 10 Years in the Making
A decade after McKenzie River Trust, purchased 217-acre Waite Ranch in the Siuslaw Estuary, partners are breaking ground on a large-scale restoration project. Led by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI), the project will improve salmon and shorebird habitat, contribute to regional climate resilience, and provide a place for local Tribal citizens and families to celebrate and promote Indigenous culture on their ancestral lands.
Floodplain Restoration Underway at Finn Rock Reach
Two and a half years after the Holiday Farm fire burned more than 173,000 acres in the McKenzie River valley, partners are breaking ground on the second and final phase of floodplain restoration work at Finn Rock Reach, a 278-acre conservation area owned by McKenzie River Trust.