Springfield Mill Race Restoration Project

Clearwater Park and boat ramp will remain closed for much of April and May to allow for the heavy construction activities occurring in the park area.  Contractors working for the Army Corps of Engineers have encountered some delays due to the recent soggy conditions and additional work needed in the new inlet channel.  Crews will reopen the park in time for Memorial Day Weekend and hope to beat that deadline by a week or more.

Construction activities resumed this past week on the Springfield Mill Race Ecosystem Restoration project.  Project work took a break for the winter shortly after the milestone event of opening the new channel inlet to the river on December 30.  This post updates you on activities and impacts to park users in the near future as well as the main project undertakings for 2010.  This year, the Phase I inlet area project will be completed and the Phase II mill pond area project will get underway.

PARK CLOSURE

Neighbors and users of Clearwater Park should take special note that the park will be closed to the public starting Monday, March 15.  The closure is necessary to accommodate heavy trucks and machinery to haul off soil stockpiled during last fall’s channel excavation and to prepare the parking area and roadway for paving.  The closure is anticipated to last approximately one month.

BANKSIDE PLANTINGS

Landscaping crews are now on site planting thousands of native trees, shrubs, and plants throughout the riparian (stream bank) restoration area.  Establishing native plants in this zone restores the natural ecosystem, benefitting birds and other wildlife including fish.  Intensive planting and vegetation maintenance work will occur through fall of 2011.

Park users are requested to respect the plantings and keep out of the restoration area to protect this investment.  An access trail for restoration activities will be evident along the Mill Race.  At this point, the trail is not intended to be a permanent public trail.  We will be establishing a buffer trail to protect the restoration area from invasive blackberry and to provide continued access for project maintenance.  It is our vision that volunteers will help maintain the project using this trail, and that the trail might become part of a permanent recreational system.

CHANNEL JOINING

The next milestone event is the construction of a channel to connect the new inlet, built last year, directly to the Mill Race channel.  Currently, these water bodies are connected via a side channel of the Middle Fork Willamette River.  This work is scheduled to occur in April and May.

POND DRAINING

Perhaps the most noticeable event this year will be the draining of the Mill Pond at the Booth-Kelly site downtown.  A slow drawdown of the pond will occur this spring.  Both native fish and  non-native carp and bass will be flushed out of the system into the Willamette River.  Remaining native fish will be rescued from remnant ponds by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.  The flow of the Mill Race will be diverted at 28^th Street through Gorrie Creek to the Middle Fork Willamette River.  This bypass allows dry construction work without impact on native fish.

DAM DEMOLITION

The mill pond dam will be removed along with associated downstream structures and the “carpenter shed” building.  The channel area will be graded for improved flow and habitat and the banks will be planted with native vegetation.  An exciting opportunity to remove the dam as a military training exercise is under consideration.  Demolition may occur this summer or may be postponed until a later date.

WETLAND CREATION

The highlight of Mill Race restoration will materialize as the pond is redeveloped this summer and fall into a winding channel surrounded by seasonal wetlands.  The wetlands will eventually be a recreational destination and will provide vastly increased habitat for rearing salmon, Oregon chub, Pacific lamprey, and numerous other wildlife species.  Stormwater retention and treatment wetlands will also be constructed starting this summer around the mill pond site.

RECREATIONAL TRAILS

The Middle Fork Path, a multi-user trail to connect Clearwater Park with Dorris Ranch, is being undertaken by Willamalane Park and Recreation District.  This important new element to the region’s recreational path system begins construction this summer starting at Clearwater Park.  The path follows the new Mill Race inlet channel from Clearwater Park and will parallel the river as construction works westward.

An interpretative kiosk and boardwalk at the Booth-Kelly mill pond wetland area is planned as part of Phase II construction starting this year.  Funding limitations may delay this element past 2010.

Flags marking where crews are planting new vegetation.

Crews started this month on the ambitious planting endeavor to add thousands of new native plants to the riparian area surrounding the upper Mill Race channel.  Landscaping flags denote where various species of trees, shrubs, and low plants are being added.  Planting activities will be completed by early April.  Crews will work for the next year on ensuring the plants survive through providing water and clearing any weeds and blackberry regrowth from the area.  Once established, the native understory beneath the existing cottonwoods and maple trees will provide rich new habitat for a thriving stream ecosystem.  Wildlife benefitting from the enhancement include neotropical migratory songbirds, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians, pollenating insects, and the fish in the Mill Race which rely on plant debris and insects to complete the food web.

The public is requested to stay out of the restoration area while the plants are established, and to especially be careful to avoid cleared areas with fresh plantings.  Thank you!

Construction activities resumed this month at Clearwater Park.  The park closed effective Tuesday, March 16, 2010 to accommodate truck traffic and heavy machinery operating on site.  The Army Corps’ contractor estimates the park will be closed for the duration of April as crews complete work on the new inlet channel, pave the new parking area, and complete other finishing tasks at the park.

A City of Springfield staff member observed this steelhead in the new channel at Clearwater Park.  We are looking forward to the fish use of the new and restored channel as the project is completed over the next two years.

With spring upon us, the Mill Race Ecosystem Restoration Project is set to resume.  These are some of the project elements we can expect as 2010 unfolds:

Phase I Continued

March-April: Planting and establishment of native plants throughout the riparian zone to establish habitat and ecosystem function to the Mill Race.  Blackberry and other invasive species will receive an additional herbicide application to prevent regrowths from overtaking the new plants.  Crews will be accessing the area throughout the spring and into the fall to water and maintain the plantings.

April-May: Completion of grading and soil disposal at Clearwater Park, excavation and connection of the old channel to the new channel, and bank stabilization throughout the new channel area.  This work will be completed in anticipation of a June start to Willamalane’s construction of the Mid Fork Path system.

Phase II:

March: Army Corps negotiation of contract for Phase II, which addresses the mill pond area from 28th Street to the Booth-Kelly dam site.

Spring: Dewatering of the mill pond, diversion of the Mill Race through Gorrie Creek, and bypass of drainage around the dam. 

Dam removal is pending scheduling – removal may happen any time from summer 2010 through summer 2011.

Summer: Grading of the mill pond area to create meandering channel and wetland habitats, bank fill in the upper neck of the mill pond to narrow the channel for deeper flow and provide area for riparian enhancements and future trail access.  Construction of a boardwalk and interpretative display pending funding availability.

Fall: Continued channel work and planting of channel, wetland, and riparian areas.

Gorrie Creek culverts will be replaced when the diversion is no longer needed for downstream work.

OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT*

Policy Action Requested: Funding Allocation of Surface Transportation Funds

Purpose: Middle Fork Willamette River Loop Path

Funding Amount: $70,000

On February 11, 2010, the policy body of the Central Lane Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will hold a meeting from 11:30am -1:30 pm at the Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room located at 225 Fifth Street, during which they will discuss the following funding request: Funding for final plan preparation for Phase 2 of the Middle Fork Willamette River Loop Path extending from Dorris Ranch to Quarry Creek. This is a proposal to expend up to $70,000 of the MPO’s federal discretionary funds on the final plan preparation work for the construction of Phase 2 of the Middle Fork Willamette River Loop Path from Dorris Ranch to Quarry Creek. This request for STP-U funds is being made in order to get the bid packet prepared for Phase 2, the portion of the path from Dorris Ranch to Quarry Creek. All required permitting has been completed; land-use permits and ROW phases are almost complete (within next 60 days). It only remains for the final plans for this segment to be developed and given to ODOT for review. The approval of the $70,000 in STP-U funds by MPC will enable the project to be well-placed to receive potential funding, such as the second round of ARRA funds, should they become available. With ARRA-2 funding, a project will likely need to be ready to go to bid as soon as the construction funding is secured.

More information can be found and materials downloaded at http://www.thempo.org/news/publicnotices.cfm. A map of the project location is also provided. * Due to the urgency of getting this work underway in order to meet the strict timelines, the MPO will request that the policy board take action on this item at their February 11thmeeting. The MPC will also have the option to continue the public comment period.

If you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can provide comments in writing up through 5 pm on February 10th and they will be presented for you at the meeting. Write or email to: Metropolitan Policy Committee Lane Council of Governments 859 Willamette, Suite 500 Eugene, OR 97401 email mpo@lcog.org

Please contact Andrea Riner at 541-682-6512 if you have any questions or comments.

The Mill Race Restoration Crew is happy to announce that Clearwater Park is now open to the public.   The boat ramp is open and there is a new gravel parking area.  The signs came down today!

Please do not park in the turnaround area by the boat ramp.  Park in the larger gravel area.

There are swift currents as the flow from the Willamette enters the Mill Race and flows through the culvert.  Please be careful and respect the limits of the parking area.

The construction of park is not complete; crews will be coming back to pave and plant native plants.  That work will begin at the end of March, weather permitting.  Please check this blog for updates.

December was a busy month for the Mill Race crew.  The culvert bridge over the new channel was installed.  The new parking lot was rough graded.  On December 30, the plug was breached and water from the Middle Fork flowed into the new Mill Race.

Excavating for the Bridge Foundations

Culvert Bridge in place

Grading the channel before removing the earth dam

Removing the dam

The first moment of breach - Willamette River flows into the Mill Race

Mill Race filling with Willamette River water