Photo by Freshwaters Illustrated
Photo by Freshwater Illustrated
McKenzie River Finn Rock Reach Phase I
Hired to support a collaborative effort between the McKenzie River Trust (MRT), the US Forest Service, and the McKenzie River Watershed Council, W2r guided a process-based design approach for the restoration of 83 acres of floodplain along Finn Rock Reach. Constructed in 2021, the Stage 8 design is contributing to the recovery of Upper Willamette River Chinook salmon.
At Finn Rock, the mainstem McKenzie River had been actively incising for decades and sat at a much lower elevation. As well, several dams above the project area do not allow for historic peak flows or the natural transport and movement of gravels and sediment. In response, the project design removed artificial features and lowered terraces, in addition to some channel filling, to achieve a Stage 8 condition (an anastomosing wetland-stream complex within an inset floodplain).
Key to success on the compressed timeline: W2r collaborated closely and efficiently with MRT and the design team, especially in early 2021, while finalizing the permits in time for summer construction. On several occasions, W2r suggested design revisions to meet no-rise requirements, completed hydraulic modeling, iterated the revisions with the team, and completed the analysis and updated permit quantities in short order. The no-rise certification for this project was one of the first successful certifications of Stage 0/8 projects on non-federal lands in Lane County.
