McKenzie River Trust and partners broke ground on a major floodplain restoration project on Quartz Creek this May. The project aims to reconnect the creek with its historic floodplain, benefiting the ecosystem and the plants, animals, and people who rely on it.
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.
McKenzie River recreationists are celebrating the re-opening of the Finn Rock Landing on the McKenzie River. One of the more popular launches for the McKenzie River’s whitewater opportunities, the Finn Rock Landing serves thousands of visitors annually. The improved landing, slated to reopen on Saturday, June 15th, was designed based on community feedback in partnership with Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architects. Work was completed by Delta Sand and Gravel Company and included creating defined parking spaces, pedestrian safety routes, places to gather out of traffic, and installing bird-friendly lighting.
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.
As a result of recent wildfires across the West, significant portions of the Willamette and adjacent forests have burned. This disturbance offers a unique opportunity for land owners and managers to seed pollinator forbs into open areas caused by the burn.
One year after devastating wildfires and a summer of unprecedented drought, the first Spring Chinook salmon have arrived at the spawning ground in the McKenzie River near the Finn Rock Reach restoration project to complete the cycle of life for this iconic species.
Floodplain restoration work at Finn Rock Reach more than doubles available spawning ground for Spring Chinook Salmon.
McKenzie River Resident, Della Cantrell, finds closure through land conservation in the wake of the Holiday Farm Fire.
Barry Lopez made his home in the McKenzie Valley, upslope and in line of sight with the river. He wrote and spoke eloquently on behalf of the
In this essay by Barry Lopez commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Lopez reflects on the McKenzie and other iconic rivers.