Elijah Bristow Floodplain restoration

Elijah Bristow is a beautiful park brimming with plants, animals, and recreational activities. So, why the need for restoration? Historically this stream should be fanning out across the floodplain and creating diverse habitat for fish and wildlife. However, due to human-caused changes over the past several decades, the Middle Fork Willamette was confined to its channel and, therefore, flowing fast like a fire hose which altered the natural stream processes and reduced the quality and diversity of the habitat. We hope to help restore our river and provide improved habitat for fish and wildlife, dampen flood events, improve water quality, and increase the resiliency of our park. 

To the naked eye the park looks pristine, but it has actually been greatly affected by different forces over the years. With the building of Dexter Dam in 1954 the river became predictable, but this also meant that the sediments and woody debris couldn’t make it below the dam. The sediments were important food sources for the insects at the bottom of the food chain and the woody debris provided places for the fish to hide and pools for fresh water mussels to grow.

In the 1960’s and 70’s this stretch of river was used for gravel mining. In order to mine the gravel large pits were dug and debris piles created. You can see evidence of this along the River Trail, many of the small ponds are actually gravel pits and regularly shaped mounds covered in light vegetation are the debris piles. The mining operation also created dikes to control the water, creating the single channel (or dual channel) river we see today.

Our goals with restoration are to reconnect the floodplain and let it meander, spread out, and create new paths. We will be working with community members, partners, and park users to create the plan for restoration. Sign up below to stay informed about the project and get involved.