Environmental Services recently completed this report, which documents the results of effectiveness monitoring for restoration projects constructed in the Johnson Creek watershed between 1997 and 2010. Projects like the Schweitzer Natural Area and East Lents Floodplain project (which we’ve written about recently here) are monitored to comply with permits and grants, and to make sure the projects are working as designed. The six projects in this report comprise over 122 acre feet of added flood storage in this part of southeast Portland, and almost 100,000 trees and shrubs planted.

Besides helping to address nuisance flooding and improve water quality in Johnson Creek, these projects are providing habitat for native wildlife in the city...like this Red-legged frog that staff recently captured with an underwater camera at the Schweitzer Natural Area.

Northern Red-legged frogs are a special-status species in Oregon, meaning they have been identified by federal or state agencies as a species of concern due to declining populations.  Healthy amphibian populations, like those at several Johnson Creek project sites, are an indicator of good water quality and suitable habitat.