Sandy River Basin Watershed Council Executive Director
Deadline extended to Friday, January 29, 2010

The Sandy River Basin Watershed Council is recruiting for an Executive Director. The successful candidate will be an energetic and entrepreneurial leader with proven management and fundraising skills, and a strong commitment to watershed protection and restoration.

Applications should be submitted to sandyexecutive@aol.com. Deadline has been extended to 5 pm on Friday, January 29, 2010. No phone or email inquiries will be accepted. Please do not contact the Council's office with questions about the recruitment.

Click Here to download full job description

Restoration project enhances the Salmon River

Deep, new pools with cool water full of juvenile Coho salmon on hot summer days. Complex habitats where young fish can rear (grow), take refuge during winter high flows and hide in tangles of roots while a great blue heron is searching for a meal. These are just some of the benefits of an exciting habitat restoration project that was completed, in September 2008, on the Salmon River an important tributary of the Sandy River.

The Salmon River’s relatively large size and winter flow levels mean that there are limited slow water rearing areas where juvenile salmon can grow prior to their journey to the Pacific Ocean. This is due to the absence of large wood in the river and lack of side channel habitat. A side channel is connected, at its upper and lower ends, to the the main river but may only have water in it during the winter when the river rises and water can flow into the side channel. Logs were removed from the river and side channels were blocked by dikes following the 1964 flood.

To help remedy this situation a total of 360 large logs and tree length pieces with their roots still attached were placed in seven historic side channels to create pools, hiding cover and increase habitat complexity for juvenile and adult salmon, Pacific lamprey and other species. In addition to adding wood, water flow was restored to two side channels that had seen little or no flow since the late 1960’s. A Chinook heavy lift helicopter moved the logs, some weighing up to 20,000 pounds, to the side channels.

This project was the result of years of planning and great teamwork involving the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council, Oregon Trout, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. The work was funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), Oregon Trout, US Forest Service, BLM, National Forest Foundation and other sources.

 

Marmot Dam is gone

Marmot Dam is gone and scientists and river managers are very interested in how the gravel, sand and large rocks that had almost completely filled the reservoir behind the dam will influence the Sandy River and its salmon. After the 47 foot tall Marmot Dam was demolished, during summer 2007, the Sandy River began to erode and transport part of the 750,000 cubic meters of sediment that had accumulated behind the dam. As an active river flowing off a glaciated volcano the Sandy has been transporting large volumes of sediment for many, many years. Now, the dam removal presented an exciting opportunity to study what actually happens when a large volume of material is added to the Sandy.

The watershed council has partnered with Johns Hopkins University and Graham Matthews & Associates to conduct a multiyear project to monitor sediment transport including the rate of movement and changes in the river bed. Researchers from Johns Hopkins have been leading a team of summer interns to survey the river and gather data at key sites downstream from the dam. Beginning in summer 2007 they made measurements to establish a pre-dam removal baseline so that measurements from before the dam removal could later be compared to data collected at the same sites in 2008 and 2009. This exciting project is being funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Johns Hopkins University and the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics.

To learn more about the history and removal of Marmot and Little Sandy dams visit www.marmotdam.com PGE is in the process of donating 1,500 acres of its Sandy River Basin lands as the centerpiece of a planned 9,000-acre natural resource and recreation area that will serve the entire region.

To register for an event and receive directions to meeting place please send an email to with the name of the event in the subject line or call 503-668-1646. Children ages 10-18 are welcome when accompanied by an adult. For outdoor events please wear boots or sturdy shoes and dress for the weather.

March 2009
Saturday, March 7 9 am – 2 pm	Salmon River Tree Planting Join us for a "Friends of the Forest Day" co-sponsored by the watershed council, Mt. Hood National Forest, the Mazamas and the National Forest Foundation. Help plant trees along restored side channels on the Salmon River. Wear boots and dress for the weather. To pre-register please call 503-808-2695 or
Saturday, March 21 9 am - Noon	Sandy River Basin Watershed Wide Event Help the watershed council, The Nature Conservancy, City of Gresham and Bureau of Land Management plant trees to improve fish and wildlife habitat. Wear boots and dress for the weather. For a list of sites email or call 503-668-1646.

Summer 2009 Events

We’re planning some exciting events for the summer. These are likely to include: A hike to explore old-growth forests along the Salmon River Tours of salmon habitat restoration project Tour of the former site of Marmot Dam Please check our calendar later in the spring for more details