New report card is out on Willamette Basin streams

MARCOLA, Ore. - Oregon scientists have just given a physical exam to the Willamette River Basin and its scores of tributaries. And it turns out that the river has some health problems.
 
Overhanging trees, logs in the stream and cool water temperatures. While usually this is the stuff that makes for great fish habitat, a new study from Oregon's DEQ found there is not enough of these streams in the Willamette Basin.

If fish could complain, they would say it's hot down here. The new DEQ study found about 70 percent of rivers and creeks in the Basin are too warm for salmon, trout and other cold-water fish.

"In general, trout and salmon really get uncomfortable at 68 degrees, to the point where they're looking for something else," said District Fish Biologist Jeff Ziller of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Mill Creek, which runs into the Mohawk River, is one stream on the mend after heavy logging 25 years ago.

Ziller points to the nearby forest canopy (a canopy that's not very tall). "You can see those conifers right there," Ziller said, "they are not allowing the shade to hit the stream."

He said temperatures will drop as the trees get taller. However, that is years away.

Meanwhile, at nearby Shotgun Creek (another tributary of the Mohawk), the fish would have no complaints. "A nice canopy like this lets a little bit of sunlight in," Ziller said.

Researchers in the study found strong connections linking damaged streamside vegetation, higher temperatures and impaired stream life.

Why should people should care about this study? DEQ Water Quality Program Manager Michael Wolf tells us that it's human development has caused the Willamette river system to degrade over time. Thus, it's only with human intervention that the rivers and streams can be restored to bring back the fish, flora and fauna that keep Oregon healthy.

While the new report is kinder to streams on forest lands, biologists said it is going to take time to reverse years of damage to the Willamette Basin.

The study sampled 650 sites throughout the Willamette Valley, combining work done by scientists, watershed councils and Oregon State University researchers.