Iron Creek Watershed Restoration
The GP Task Force is excited to report the removal of 1.9 miles of road in the Iron Creek subwatershed in the Cowlitz Valley of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to restore fish habitat and create jobs. Since 2003, the GP Task Force has been working with our collaborative allies, through the Pinchot Partners, in the rural communities of Randle and Packwood to identify and implement restoration projects like the Iron Creek road removal project described below.
We first identified the Iron Creek subwatershed as a priority in 2004 because Iron Creek is located in the Lower Cispus watershed and has the highest sediment delivery in the watershed—one of the limiting factors in this area for the recovery of species including winter steelhead and coho. Our first restoration project in the Iron Creek subwatershed was replacing and “right-sizing” culverts along two miles of road to restore fish passage and reduce sediment delivery to the Lower Cispus River. Our next project was implemented in 2006 and included the removal of a .2 mile road segment that was at risk of failing and dumping very large sediment loads into the local creeks and river.
In the summer of 2008, we completed the removal of 1.9 miles of road in the Iron Creek subwatershed. This road was slated for decommissioning in the 2003 Gifford Pinchot National Forest roads analysis, which considered access needs before recommending decommissioning. The road segment removed had seven stream crossings and was a major source of erosion and sediment delivery into Big Creek and the Lower Cispus watershed. Removal of the first culvert alone opened up .62 miles of additional fish habitat in Big Creek.
Both road removal projects were completed by one of the most talented restoration contractors in the Northwest, LKE Corporation.
Kim Erion owns and operates LKE with her husband Jim. This past August, the GP Task Force coordinated a field trip to see the latest road removed by LKE Corporation, and we were extremely impressed with their dedication to restoring the watershed. LKE did an outstanding job of bringing the slope back to its natural state and went beyond contract requirements by taking the time to save trees and shrubs to replant in the old road bed.
The road removal project helped to restore a watershed and provided quality work for contractors. The project generated almost 350 hours of work for three contractors working for LKE Corporation, making an hourly wage of between $27-$45 dollars. “All restoration jobs are good jobs,” says Kim Erion, “I just wish they would do more.” The Gifford Pinchot National Forest has over 4,000 miles of roads on its 1.37 million acres and a $50-$60 million + road maintenance backlog that grows each year – demonstrating the need for more road removal and the challenge of finding funding to remove roads.
