Lower Germany Creek Fish Assessment & Restoration

Location:

Germany Creek, a tidally influenced tributary to the Columbia River located 12 miles west of Longview in Cowlitz County, WA.

Project type:

• Assessment
• Habitat Restoration
• Monitoring

Status:

Active

Start Date:

February 2011

Completion Date:

Assessment - September 2012

Description:

Wild Fish Conservancy was contracted by Columbia Land Trust to provide technical assistance for several restoration projects on the property CLT acquired on lower Germany Creek. Germany Creek is a tidally influenced tributary to the Columbia River located 12 miles west of Longview in Cowlitz County, Washington. The natural floodplain and stream confluence with the Columbia River have been modified by logging, gravel mining, and road construction. CLT acquired the lower ~ 1-mile of the mainstem, and there in 2009 WFC assisted with the installation of large woody debris (LWD) structures to increase instream habitat complexity.  During summer 2011, WFC collected baseline data to monitor the effectiveness of additional LWD structures, which are anchored using innovative dolosse, a pioneering approach that will increase the functional longevity of the constructed log jams and minimize channel disturbance during construction.

Goals & Objectives:

1. Increase quantity and complexity of rearing, high-flow refuge, and migration habitat;
2. Decrease water temperatures and increase allochthonous inputs;
3. Bank stabilization at Germany Creek Road;
4. Restore historic native floodplain forest vegetation, including control of invasive nonnativespecies, e.g. reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), policeman’s helmet (Impatiens glandulifera), and Himalayan blackberry species. Long-term benefits include stream cover, large wood delivery and allochthonous inputs.
5. Increase the understanding of the role of wood in the Lower Columbia River estuary.
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of groundbreaking dolo techniques for anchoring LWD.

Primary Habitats Impacted By Project:

Tidally influenced mainstem of Germany Creek – migration corridor, spawning, and rearing for ESA-listed coho, chum, steelhead, and Chinook.

Managing Agency/Organization:

Columbia Land Trust

Project Contact:

Jamie Glasgow

Partners:

- Columbia Land Trust
- Cardno ENTRIX

Attachments:

- Lower Germany Creek Memo

Images:

Map