University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program
Stream Stewardship 2017
McKenzie Watershed Council
Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon
The McKenzie Watershed Council works with government organizations and the community to educate members of the public about local environmental concerns and ecological restoration projects in the watershed. Through collaboration of many stakeholders, projects are carried out by identifying priority areas, creating a restoration plan, securing funding, and implementing restoration projects. The Stream Stewardship student research team will be gathering data at the Springfield Oxbow and Deer Creek sites. The Watershed Council will use these data when creating a restoration plan and managing these locations.
The Stream Stewardship team, McKenzie River Watershed Council, and others have permission from a local landowner, the Landers family, to access their land on the Springfield Oxbow site. Their hope is to see the site preserved as both farm land and undeveloped riparian forest and side channel habitat for salmon, trout, and other native species of the Willamette Valley and McKenzie River.
Private Landowners
ELP is a service based learning program lead by faculty and graduate students from the University of Oregon. Data collected by the stream stewardship team and management recommendations made from these data will give our community partners baseline information from which to prioritize restoration and future management at these sites. The University of Oregon funds the Environmental Leadership Program and provides the opportunity for students to engage in these important public and private sector project collaborations.
Willamette National Forest – McKenzie River Ranger District
Community Partners
The Willamette National Forest - McKenzie River Ranger District are the co-manager of the Deer Creek Project. Deer Creek is located in the Willamette National Forest, so the WNF-MRRD are the lead on all monitoring efforts. Our protocol and methods at this site were developed by MRRD staff and will be used to help plan future restoration projects, such as the large scale floodplain restoration on the South Fork McKenzie River.