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| Bear Creek Riparian Restoration |
Crook County, Oregon |
Primary Project Type: Instream Restoration
Secondary Type: Riparian Restoration |
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May 1983. Grazing was reduced in the area beginning in 1976, and from '81 to '84... |
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Primary Problem: Channel Incision
Secondary Problem: Overgrazing |
| Main Restoration Action(s): Grazing management |
| Native Fish Focus: N/A |
Is this project part of a watershed scale restoration? No
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| Project Dates: 1976 to Ongoing |
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Initial Monitoring: 1976, 1978
Restoration Implementation: 1976 - Ongoing
Follow-up Monitoring: 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1996, 2002 |
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Lead Agency:
U.S. Bureau of Land Management - Prineville District
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| Project Partners: |
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| Project Location:
Bear Creek, which drains into the Prineville Reservoir, is located roughly eight miles north of the town of Brothers. It lies at approximately 3,500 feet elevation in the high desert of Central Oregon. Precipitation averages 12 inches per year with peak runoff occurring in mid to late February.
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| Project Description:
The Bear Creek area had been grazed by domestic livestock since the late 1800s. Prior to 1976, the area was a single pasture licensed for 72 animal unit months (AUMs) from April to September. This strategy depleted streamside vegetation (low diversity and productivity) and deeply incised the stream channel, causing it to be unstable and actively eroding. Runoff events contained high volumes of sediment and summer streamflow was often intermittent and low in quality. |
| Project Goals: The goal along Bear Creek was to restore proper stream function and sustainable ranching by restoring the riparian area. |
| Project Methods:
In 1976-78 the BLM partially rested the area from grazing in an attempt to restore the productivity of the riparian area. In 1979 and 1980 the area was grazed for one week in September and from 1981-1984 it was not grazed. Juniper trees on the adjacent hillsides were thinned in 1983 to improve upland conditions, reduce erosion, and to see if this action would increase willow regeneration. During 1985 the pasture was divided into three units with money supplied from the county Grazing Board and labor provided by the permittee. The grazing was changed from season-long to a three pasture late winter/early spring use period (mid-February to April 15). In central Oregon, late winter and early spring grazing work well because of climate and growing conditions. Peak runoff tends to occur during late January or early February when grazing typically begins. Riparian vegetation from the previous year is in place to protect the stream banks when peak flow occurs. When grazing ends during the spring, growing conditions provide the opportunity for riparian vegetation to complete its growth. Then, when summer thundershowers cause flash floods, riparian vegetation has already grown and is able to protect the stream banks.
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June 1987. Vegetation along the banks filtered sediment from a summer flood. The... |
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August 1987. Two months after the previous photo, vegetation is seen growing up ... |
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| Monitoring Data and Collection
Methods: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land Management conducted a qualitative and quantitative survey of the in-stream habitat, riparian vegetation, bank condition, water quality, macro invertebrates, and animals present (via fecal pellet counts) on approximately 400 miles of stream within the Prineville District, Bureau of Land Management. In 1994, 4 sections of Bear Creek were resurveyed for riparian vegetation attributes and bank condition.
Click here for more monitoring information.
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| Was this project effective
and how was this determined? The licensed use in 1976 was 75 animal unit months (AUMs) from April until September. Surveys during this year revealed that the riparian area totaled 3.8 acres per mile of stream and was producing approximately 200 pounds of forage per acre. That meant if livestock ate all the available forage and used 800 pounds per AUM, it took one mile of stream to support one cow for one month. Stream banks were actively eroding, the channel was deeply incised, flows were frequently intermittent, and runoff events contained high volumes of sediment. The riparian area was storing less than 500,000 gallons of water per mile. By 1989 the licensed use had increased to 354 AUMs, five times the amount previously grazed from the area. The livestock permittee reportedly reduced his annual cost of hay by $10,000 because of less winter feeding. In 1996 the riparian area had grown to 12 acres per mile of stream and was now producing approximately 2,000 pounds of forage per acre. The production had increased 30-fold. The filtering of sediments by the vegetation had raised the stream bed by two-and-a-half feet and we were now storing nearly four million gallons of water per mile. Stream length (sinuosity) had increased by one-third of a mile in the three mile stretch, also helping keep the water on the land longer. The resulting improvement in quality and quantity of streamflow has allowed the reestablishment of rainbow trout.
Click here for more information on project effectiveness.
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(Before) August 1977. Streamside vegetation was low in diversity, stream banks w... |
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(After) April 1996. The increased channel stability from the riparian vegetation... |
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| Confounding Effects/Additional
Information: Though this early season riparian grazing treatment works well on this site's sandy loam soils, it might not work as well on soils with high moisture content. |
| Project
Specs (all specs are estimates): |
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| For more information on this project
contact: |
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Jim Eisner, BLM - Prineville District Office, Email: jeisner@or.blm.gov
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| This information
was collected by: Molly Boucher |
| Project last updated on: 4/7/2007 |
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