Visitors to Owl Creek last fall marveled at the sight: the white belly of a chinook, flashing in the sun as it dug a redd to lay eggs.
It was a brief glimpse, but a clear statement: a partnership between the Hoh Tribe and Trout Unlimited to install engineered logjams in the river and make it a more dynamic and welcoming home for salmon is showing benefits. Owl Creek is a crucial tributary of the Hoh River, a fishing area for tribal members since time immemorial.
“I’ve grown up on this river,” said Walter Ward-Bos, who serves on the Hoh Tribal Council. “I fished it with my dad and grandpa, all the way from the mouth to the Hoh Bridge. Fishing is a way of life for us.”
That way of life was threatened when flood events in recent decades swept too much water and debris through Owl Creek, scouring it of rocks and wood that usually slowed the river’s flow to provide safe harbor for the chinook, coho and steelhead that spawn and rear in its waters. Interested in making Owl Creek more hospitable and climate resilient for salmon, the tribe and Trout Unlimited studied, planned and secured funding for a project aimed at the goal. Since wood is needed to slow water and create eddies for fish to rest in, the partners undertook an ambitious task. Using helicopters, they placed 5 million pounds of wood in rock-secured logjams throughout 1.2 miles of the creek.
Salmon can already be seen navigating around the logjams and spawning in the area. The logjams are also collecting new wood that’s fallen into the river, kickstart- ing a process that will keep the river and its inhabitants healthy as years go by.
“Seeing what we see now is incredible,” said Sean Ludden, Olympic Peninsula restoration project manager for Trout Unlimited.
The tribe and partners are also planning restoration work on Elk and Winfield creeks, other Hoh River tributaries important for salmon.
“We hope to see improvement like we’ve seen in Owl Creek,” said Kim Bray, the tribe’s natural resources director.
Top: Maggie Bockart, a habitat restoration biologist for the Hoh Tribe, uses a GoPro to search for salmon in Owl Creek. Photo and story: Trevor Pyle
Right: A helicopter swings materials into place for an engineered logjam projects partnering the Hoh Tribe and Trout Unlimited. Photo provided by Trout Unlimited.
