Little Wind River Habitat Restoration Project
The Little Wind River is a major tributary to the main-stem river, flowing into the Wind River at approximately river-mile 1. This multi-year restoration project worked to rehabilitate one mile of the Little Wind impacted by historic logging and associated management, which had greatly simplified both riparian and in-stream habitat. Habitat enhancement work on the Little Wind River has a significant value for steelhead and other anadromous fish in the Wind River system.
The Little Wind River Habitat Restoration Project was completed over 4 phases and included design, engineering, and construction for engineered log jams, pools, riffles and spawning glides as in-stream habitat elements, plus side channel reconnection and activation of backwater refugia, passage improvement at the confluence of the Little Wind River and the Wind River, and post-construction site re-vegetation.
Accomplishments for the most recent and final phase, completed during Summer 2019, included the helicopter placement of 78 full logs with rootwads and 25 slash bundles placed in the 0.45 mile Phase 4 project reach, creating twelve substantial log jams. Jams were placed atop pre-felled streambank alders and sealed with loose bundles of logging slash.
The Little Wind River is an important tributary for steelhead and salmon in the Wind River watershed.
Following helicopter-placement of logs, UCD and contractors built two other in-stream habitat features downstream; the excavation of a filled-in, historic side-channel of approximately 100’ length, which will activate at high flows and included a log jam, using full logs harvested onsite and donated by the landowner, on the opposite bank to encourage flow during high water events to enter the new side-channel, and a pair of mature fir logs trenched in and set at the confluence of the Little Wind and the Wind River, which will assist the stream to concentrate flow into a thalweg and should help keep the Little Wind River confluence from forming a fish-passage barrier. Finally, approximately 200 native conifers were planted in the riparian areas throughout the log placement reach and an additional approximately 50 native shrubs and trees were planted in the disturbed access areas at the head of the side-channel enhancement and at the Little Wind confluence jam. These areas were also seeded with a native grass seed mix and mulched with certified weed-free straw.
Funding for the Little Wind River Habitat Restoration Project has been provided by Bonneville Power Administration, the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, via the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, and Community Salmon Fund.