Camp Polk Restoration Details

The restored channel now meanders its way across Camp Polk Meadow. Photo: Jay Mather.

After more than ten years of planning, four years of implementation, and countless hours by staff and hundreds of volunteers, Whychus Creek has returned to its home through Camp Polk Meadow Preserve.

During this multi-year restoration project, the Land Trust, in partnership with the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and Deschutes National Forest, worked to restore the creek to its historic channel.

Learn more about the project:

• Watch videos of Whychus Creek from the day that the water was diverted into its new channel through the meadow.

• Watch a slideshow of aerial photos taken during the restoration.
  

Current Status: 

• Major construction of the restored channel occurred in 2009.
  
• 2010 and 2011 were growing years! More than 180,000 native plants were planted along the restored channel and then temporary fencing and irrigation was installed to help the plants grow.
  
• In October 2011, the irrigation piping and fencing was removed in preparation for the final phase of the restoration. 
• In November 2011, side channels were constructed throughout the meadow to provide additional rearing habitat for native fish. Rocks and trees were stockpiled to help plug the existing channel once the water is redirected. Take a video tour of a side channel, or dig deeper on an extended restoration tour with stewardship director Amanda Egertson.
  
• In February 2012 we "flipped the switch" and redirected the water from Whychus Creek into the restored channel.  Restoration crews finished the excavation of the restored channel where it connects with Whychus Creek's current channel while volunteers and ODFW biologists transferred the fish from the existing channel to the restored channel, and crews decommissioning the existing channel by filling it with rocks, trees, and soil.
  
• Continuing in 2012, all roads, paths and access points from the restoration will be removed, replanted and restored.

Maps below show the restoration work in detail. And more information about the goals of the restoration can be found below. Be sure to join us for an on the ground restoration tour next spring, summer and fall.

Map 1: Entire meadow restoration view
This map shows the restoration plan for the entire meadow.

Major goals of the restoration:

1. Improve habitat for redband trout, chinook and steelhead. The restored stream channel will have

• more meanders to increase overall channel length, slower water flow, and improve habitat.
• more pools will provide deep water for fish to us as refuge.
• more riffles and glides to increase habitat diversity.
• more logs to provide cover for fish and help slow flood waters.

2. Restore the wet meadow.

• improve wildlife and plant habitat by creating more wetland and streamside pland communities.
• store groundwater to help recharge the stream during low-flow periods and provide cooler water for fish during warmer months.
• increase flood-prone area so the creek can access its floodplain as it naturally would.

3. Provide for natural channel stability. The new channel will meet reference conditions for channel pattern (e.g., sinuosity,  meander length), dimension (e.g., width, depth) and profile (e.g., gradient). These reference metrics are used to develop the channel design so it closely mimics what occured prior to human disturbance.

For more details on the restoration, please download the restoration plan. Or feel free to contact the Land Trust with questions or concerns.