Rogue River Watershed Council

Stream restoration - the Council identifies conditions in and along streams that limit habitat quality for fish and wildlife, and water quality. The Council engages with private and public landowners and land managers to discuss these limiting factors, develop approaches to reduce or eliminate the impact, and implement ecological restoration projects to address them. Restoration actions including large wood installment and side-channel reconnection help restore natural stream processes. Additionally, aquatic animal passage and movement are improved through prioritized barrier removal and subsequent irrigation system conversion when necessary. Continued on schedule o. streamside restoration, including riparian rehabilitation, uses integrated pest management practices to help recover native plant communities, primarily focused on excluding livestock and suppressing noxious weeds. Additional efforts to encourage native plant survival are included in future stewardship. When necessary, native plant species are planted to contribute shade to the stream and increase slope stability to help prevent erosion. More often than not, however, we allow native species to recruit naturally at our streamside restoration projects. These actions restore natural processes that improve water quality and sustain high-quality aquatic and terrestrial habitats that build a resilient eco-system and robust fish, plant, and animal populations.

Engagement - the Council uses a variety of strategies to communicate and engage with community members about stream processes, functioning watersheds, resilient communities, and Council activities. Engagement strategies include active social media accounts, a regularly updated website, short video productions, and video library, as well as short newsletters (every other month) and lengthier newsletters (biannual). Engagement actions supplement and promote the Council's restoration efforts.

Water quality improvement - the Council works to address issues that pollute and warm the streams in our region. The Council has developed a collaborative water quality improvement program that will help achieve the goal of cleaner water. Specifically, the intent of the program is to address persistent water quality problems that include high temperature, low dissolved oxygen levels, sedimentation, bacteria presence, and nutrient loading. Continued on schedule o. Projects such as side-channel reconnection, streamside rehabilitation, converting from flood to sprinkler irrigation, and reducing stormwater runoff in urban areas provide water quality benefits including decreased stream bank erosion, increased shading, and decreased nutrient and bacteria entering the stream. The Council also works with drinking water providers to strategically locate ecological restoration practices and on farm agriculture improvements to benefit source water protection efforts.

Monitoring - the Council uses monitoring information to assess actions, guide decisions, determine ecological limiting factors, and measure the success of the Council's activities. Currently, the Council monitors water quality parameters in bear, little butte, and elk creeks as they relate to wildfire, the upper Rogue coho strategic action plan, and a large-scale irrigation system improvement.