Crow and Quartz Creek
Crow Creek and Quartz Creek join the Little Naches River near river mile 3.5. Both streams have been designated Critical Habitat for mid-Columbia steelhead and bull trout and they are utilized at various life stages by spring chinook, coho, cutthroat trout, and rainbow trout. Quartz Creek's habitat has been degraded by the construction of roads/campgrounds, channel relocation, logging, and the removal of instream wood. Habitat surveys conducted by the USFS have indicated that the lower reaches of both Crow Creek and Quartz Creek are deficient of large wood.
In partnership with the USFS, Mid-Columbia Fisheries applied for and received funding from the Salmon Recover Funding Board to address this issue. During the summer of 2020, 63 pieces of large wood were added to Quartz Creek. During the summer of 2022, an additional approximately 150 pieces of large wood will be added to lower Crow Creek.
Building Wood Structures
Trees were sourced from overstocked forest stands within 200 ft of the stream channel. After being felled by chainsaw, MCF's restoration crew uses a grip hoist to pull the trees into the channel and build log jams. This method of wood placement is time-consuming; however it is low cost and has very low impact on the riparian area since there is no need for heavy equipment. Also, the ability to use whole trees allows for the construction of stable wood structures that will provide quality habitat to native fish for years to come.
Wood Fiesta Part II
The success of Wood Fiesta Part I and the success in the hand additions of wood has build the concept of a wood stewardship program to incrementally add various sizes of woody debris to a river system. Yakama Nation and Mid-Columbia Fisheries are working together and in conjunction with the Naches Forest Partnership to implement a large scale effort to helicopter place key pieces of wood from upland thinning units. After key pieces are places, the subsequent two years, hand crews will selectively thin riparian forests to promote species diversity and fire resilience. The riparian wood will be hand positioned with grip hoists around the key pieces to further add to functionality of multi-year wood loading which has been shown to promote fish abundances, macro-invertebrate diversity and abundances. The work is in permitting and planning phase, and is set for construction in 2027
