As part of the U.S. 20 Pioneer Mountain-Eddyville road construction project, 52.9 acres of forestland and stream habitat is being donated to the U.S. Forest Service through funding by the Oregon Department of Transportation. The Oregon Department of Transportation is required to mitigate the nearby installation of rock buttresses that stabilize the new U.S. 20 Pioneer Mountain-Eddyville alignment. The rock buttresses impact local streams and riparian areas that serve as habitat for native migratory fish. To offset these impacts, ODOT and the Siuslaw National Forest identified a parcel of land for the donation around the nearby Bull Creek, which provides a good opportunity to improve local fish habitat. ODOT is funding the transfer of that parcel from Nestucca Forests LLC to the national forest as one of several mitigation projects associated with the Pioneer Mountain-Eddyville project. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work with ODOT to restore this section of Bull Creek,” said Jerry Ingersoll, USFS forest supervisor. “Adding this parcel to the Siuslaw means we’ll be able to take care of another critical piece of habitat as part of our landscape-scale restoration efforts.” Under the $4.1 million project, ODOT is funding a range of habitat improvements on the donated Bull Creek parcel, including the removal of a culvert that is a fish passage barrier, road decommissioning, invasive species treatments, and restoration thinning of forested upland areas. The stream restoration and culvert removal will improve and enhance habitat for a range of species, including Coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and lamprey. The work will be done this summer by contractor Mason, Bruce, and Girard, and will be monitored by both ODOT and the Siuslaw National Forest. The overall project cost also includes the construction of a wetland mitigation site at Big Elk Creek, which ODOT is doing separately.
