Post Fire Stream Restoration

Following the Bootleg Fire of 2021, Klamath Watershed Partnership, in partnership with Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Green Diamond Resource Company, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and USFWS began large wood additions in bull trout critical habitat streams and other key tributaries to the Sprague River. As of 2024, more than 16.5 miles across 7 streams have been covered at a cost of <$20,000 per mile! Objectives of this work are to dissipate energy, reduce erosion, capture sediments and associated nutrients, limit cattle access, protect sensitive areas, provide instream structure and shade for fish, and stabilize riparian areas for vegetation regrowth.

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Following summer rain events in 2022 and 2023, mobilization of logs into jams and deposition of hundreds of cubic yards of sediment and material at each jam has provided the foundation for a whole new level of stream recovery, including an elevated water table associated with a vastly expanded and connected floodplain. These logs and structures will continue to evolve for decades, ensuring high quality, heterogeneous habitat that was lacking in these systems even before the fire.

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Use the sliders below to see before and after images, and check out the Log Jam Gallery at the bottom of the page for an idea of the scale of these structures!