This 52 acre project on the southern tip of Sauvie Island is the first habitat restoration effort implemented specifically to benefit fish and wildlife affected by years of industrial contamination in Portland Harbor.

Salmon, osprey, bald eagle, and other fish and wildlife are already enjoying the sandy beaches, native vegetation, and large pieces of wood to perch on or hide underneath.  These features replace a saw mill, parking lots, and other structures that were present on the property before it was purchased by Wildlands, Inc. The company intends to sell natural resource "credits" from the project to potentially responsible parties to help them meet their obligations for environmental damages in the Superfund site.

Construction of the restoration project began in summer of 2014. First, hundreds of thousands of yards of wood chips were removed from the site and several buildings were demolished. A channel was excavated on the western portion of the site, which was continued through the eastern half of the site when construction resumed in 2015 (watch the time lapse video here). Also this year, efforts involve removing invasive vegetation, planting native vegetation, and installing large wood structures along the channel to create ideal places for young fish to rest, feed, and hide from predators.

You can find more information about the Alder Creek restoration project, here.

Photo credit: USFWS

Unlike most of the species we highlight in this newsletter, beaver are not an animal that the Trustee Council is studying for deleterious effects from contamination in the Portland Harbor Superfund site. But beaver play an important role in the lower Willamette River ecosystem, particularly for salmon. 

Once numbering up to 400 million in North America, beaver nearly went extinct in the 19th century.  Their populations were decimated by hunters who used their pelts for hats, jackets, and other human comforts. In recent years their populations have made a comeback across the country, including in the Portland-Metropolitan area.

Beaver are well known for their engineering prowess.  They build dams and lodges in streams and wetlands. Adults can weigh more than 50 pounds and may be seen walking on their hind legs, dragging large pieces of freshly chewed wood with their mouths and front legs.  While at first glance their construction projects may seem destructive, we now understand they contribute to a healthy river ecosystem.  When their dams back up water and catch sediment, they increase floodplains and wetlands, improve water quality, and provide habitat complexity that benefits a host of fish and wildlife species. Though they can present challenges to habitat restoration in an urban environment, we hope to learn a thing or two from their long history as habitat engineers.