Bringing Salmon Back to Oaks Bottom

October 22, 2018

Today, Nick was honored preview the completed Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge restoration with the media, and to announce a re-opening date for the Springwater trail – November 1.

For the first time in 100 years, salmon will be able to access Oaks Bottom. That’s because we reconnected the refuge to the Willamette River with a new “salmon subway” – a large, natural-bottom culvert that replaced a small pipe.

The restored refuge will be an important rest stop for juvenile salmon on their journey. Salmon are now found in almost half of Portland’s 300 miles of streams.

The restoration is a joint project between Nick’s two bureaus – the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) and Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) – and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District.

In 2016, the City and Army Corps restored the entire length of Crystal Springs Creek. And last year, Council declared Crystal Springs to be the city’s first Salmon Sanctuary.

Portlanders have long valued nature in the city, and under Nick’s leadership, BES and PP&R will continue to protect salmon and the healthy environment they need to recover and thrive.

Special thanks to the Army Corps of Engineers, our teams at BES and PP&R, and to community leaders Bob Sallinger and Mike Houck for their leadership to protect nature and wildlife in the city!