Union County News – Catherine Creek Restoration
Entering Final Phase
A familiar refrain in everywhere, where the needs of agriculture overlap the needs of fish and wildlife. A century of farming and ranching has taken its toll across America and especially on Catherine Creek in the Grande Ronde Valley of Union County, Oregon.
Catherine Creek is home to three different species of threatened or endangered fish — chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout — while at the same time providing irrigation for farming and ranching. Over the years, portions of middle Catherine Creek were pinched off from its natural floodplain to make room for farms, resulting in a loss of habitat and increased erosion along the stream bank.
Here is the story from the East Oregonian:
Catherine Creek Restoration Enters Final Phase
Restoration work is entering the final phase along Catherine Creek in Union County, with a big hand from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are working on a stream bank and floodplain restoration project at the former Southern Cross Ranch on Catherine Creek. The project is part of a larger, four-phase restoration effort involving six properties along the creek.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are working on a stream bank and floodplain restoration project at the former Southern Cross Ranch on Catherine Creek. The project is part of a larger, four-phase restoration effort involving six private properties along the creek.
A century of ranching has taken its toll on Catherine Creek in the Grande Ronde Valley.
The creek is home to three different species of threatened or endangered fish — including chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout — while at the same time providing irrigation for hay fields and cattle pastures. Over the years, portions of middle Catherine Creek were pinched off from its natural floodplain to make room for farms, resulting in a loss of habitat and increased erosion along the stream bank.
It’s a familiar refrain in Eastern Oregon, where the needs of agriculture tend to overlap with the needs of fish and wildlife.