Restoration
Enhancing fish and wildlife habitat
Restoring Natural Systems
Protecting special lands is only part of the mission of the McKenzie River Trust. We also enhance and restore various habitat types within our service area. Some of these include upland prairies, like Cerro Gordo or Native Oaks Ridge. Other types of restoration include oak savanna, oak woodland, mixed bottomland oak woodland, upland conifer forest, and ash forest, to name a few.
We also protect and restore wetlands, wet prairies, and floodplains. We do all this to help protect and enhance the habitats our regional, and sometimes imperiled, wildlife relies upon for survival.
Tidal Wetlands - Oregon Coast
Estuarine wetlands are among the most biologically and economically productive ecosystems. Since the 1850s, approximately 67% of Oregon’s outer coast estuarine habitat has been lost to land development, contributing to drastic declines in salmon and steelhead abundance. That’s why were partnering with landowners, nonprofits, and Tribal governments to restore tidal wetlands across Oregon’s central coast.
Floodplain Function - McKenzie River
We’re partnering with landowners throughout the McKenzie River watershed to complete large-scale floodplain restoration projects. These projects aim to enhance water quality, support fire resiliency in the landscape, buffer against floods, improve fisheries, and restore natural channels and wetlands in the middle McKenzie valley.
Oak and Prairie Habitats - Willamette Valley
Oak and prairie habitats are some of the most impacted, and quickly disappearing habitat types in the Willamette Valley. Less than 3% of historic habitat remains, leaving little space for the many plants and animals that rely on these areas for survival. That’s why McKenzie River Trust works closely with our partners to protect and enhance these areas through on-the-ground restoration projects.
Ecological/Prescribed Fire - Willamette Valley
McKenzie River Trust works with a range of partners. From private landowners to watershed councils, local Tribes, and state and federal agencies, we’re all pulling together for Oregon’s lands and rivers. One aspect of this work is supporting Indigenous-led initiatives to return good fire to the landscape. Fire can seem scary, but our region has relied on the traditional burning practices of the Kalapuya People since time immemorial.
Coho Salmon - Siuslaw and Coastal Lakes Basin
McKenzie River Trust is one of nine members of the Siuslaw Coho Partnership, a collaborative group centered around Coho salmon recovery. Formed in 2018, the partnership includes state, federal, tribal, and non-profit partners who have been working together to bring critical investments and a wide range of expertise to the Siuslaw and Coastal Lakes basin.
Caring for Sensitive Species
We incorporate the most up to date research from the scientific community to formulate the best planning efforts to move restoration projects forward. MRT is nimble and creative with regard to securing funding for these projects. MRT collaborates with partners to make these projects successful. Partners include local watershed councils, other land trusts, state, local, and federal agencies.
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.
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.
Ecological Burning Promotes Habitat Health in the Upper Willamette Watershed
Each fall, partners work together across our region to include controlled ecological burning in areas where habitat restoration has been completed or is underway. Ecological burning in natural areas benefits native prairie, savanna, and oak woodland habitats while also reducing the potential for severe, high-intensity wildfires by removing built up fuels including dense shrubs and thatch.
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.
History Shapes a New Future for the Siuslaw River Estuary
For more than 20 years, wetland scientist Laura Brophy has been pioneering research on the wetlands of Oregon’s central coast. As both a technical researcher and a field ecologist, Laura has brought a unique lens and approach to unveiling a lost understanding of how areas such as the Siuslaw estuary functioned before European settlers moved west.
Letting the River Roam
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.
Restoration Underway at Coyote Spencer Wetlands
Maintaining oak savanna and prairie habitats plays a key role in species conservation and ecological reinvigoration. In the Willamette Valley, less than 3% of oak savanna and less than 7% of oak woodlands remain.