Working with Trout Unlimited, the Grande Ronde Model Watershed, and landowner, W2r developed a design package to improve habitat complexity and floodplain connectivity on the Wilson-Haun Ranch, located along a one-mile reach of the Wallowa River. The design involved a mix of restoration techniques to induce greater dynamism/habitat formation throughout the reach while minimizing risk to adjacent infrastructure: floodplain grading, large wood implementation, Stage 8/ 0 restoration techniques, and side channel reconnection or excavation (~4,000 linear feet).
W2r worked on a rapid timeline to move through the design process (15% through 100%) while navigating BPA’s HIP programmatic. This included preparing a detailed evaluation of restoration alternatives, considering benefits, risks, and drawbacks for each. A handful of large wood structures were designed to withstand anticipated hydraulic forces (such as apex jams at side channel inlets), targeting increased connectivity to side channels and floodplain. These critical structures were supplemented with numerous habitat structures in locations posing less risk to add channel complexity, supplement wood loading, and allow for flexibility in construction.
This project was constructed in 2022 and received an Oregon DSL State Land Board Stream Award the following year.
AWARD
Oregon DSL Stream Project Award
Client
Trout Unlimited with the Grande Ronde Model Watershed
Keywords
Stage 8/0, side channel reconnection, engineered log jams, wood habitat structures, geomorphic assessment, sediment transport analysis, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling
