Cook Creek
Summary: 
The Cook Creek Riparian Enhancement Project will help
restore 4 miles
of stream
habitat by employing well tested silviculture techniques
to increase
conifers
along the riparian areas for future large wood
recruitment. Cook Creek
is a
tributary found along the Lower Nehalem River. The
confluence is
located
approximately 6.5 miles above the head of tidewater and
is the one of
the
largest sub-basins in the Lower Nehalem Watershed
Council (LNWC)
boundaries.
The stream has approximately 8 miles of coho habitat and
also supports
Chinook
salmon as well as steelhead and cutthroat trout.
Previous ODFW and LNWC
habitat
surveys have identified this sub-basin with a lack of
adequate
conifers, poor
future large wood recruitement, and multiple locations
where invasive
plant
species are the dominant streamside vegetation.
This project
proposes a
considerable amount of conifer planting (12,000 mixed
conifer species),
manual
hemlock seeding (approx. 1 million seeds), and in
several camping areas
conduct
non-native plant removal (Scotch broom and Himalayan
blackberry).
Implementation of the project, future tree release
prescriptions, and
all
effectiveness monitoring reports will be completed
through the combined
efforts
of Boswell Consultants, LNWC, ODF, ODFW, and BLM. OWEB
funds will be
utilized
for riparian planting materials and labor, purchasing
and installing
tree
cages and fence
materials,
labor for
invasive plant removal costs, and some additional
overhead costs for
project
management and fiscal administration.
Status: Grant proposal submitted
Partners:
Oregon
Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Watershed Enhancement
Board,
Oregon
Department of Forestry, Boswell Consultants and the
Buread of Land
Management