The John Day River is home to the largest populations of wild Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead remaining in the Columbia River system.  The North Fork is the source of over 60 percent of the annual flows in the John Day River and produces 70 percent of the basin's Spring Chinook and 43 percent of its Steelhead.  These runs are particularly notable, as they have never been supplemented with hatchery stock. All of these anadromous fish must migrate through the lower North Fork John Day on their way to spawning and rearing areas in the Upper North and Middle Forks, while the main tributaries of the lower North Fork (Deer, Cottonwood, and Rudio Creeks) are important spawning habitat for Mid-Columbia Summer Steelhead (listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act).

There is extensive irrigation along the lower portion of the North Fork (between Kimberly and the mouth of Wall Creek) and the adjoining reaches of Deer, Cottonwood and Rudio Creeks, with a total of over 60 diversions.  Each summer irrigators with shallow water diversions (~1/2 of the total number) are forced to construct gravel push-up dams in order to keep their pump intakes and/or headgates underwater.  These push-up dams require yearly in-stream modifications by heavy equipment and have received statewide attention for their contributions to stream degradation.   They can form passage barriers to fish and human recreational users, increase sediment loads when built, and are thought to warm water temperatures through the creation of large shallow pools.  When the dams wash out during spring runoff, they cause exponential increases in turbidity and erosion and can cause bank scouring that impedes the development of riparian vegetation.  Although the push-up dams are used for a short-term period, the effects of construction and washout affect the watershed throughout the year.

Both the North Fork John Day Watershed Council and its parent organization, the Monument Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), have identified improving water quality and fish habitat in the North Fork John Day subbasin as high priorities.  The elimination of gravel push-up dams is specifically mentioned as a goal in the Monument SWCD work plan, while the North Fork John Day Watershed Council by-laws prioritize on-the-ground projects that improve water quality and fish habitat.  When the Watershed Council was established in 1995, addressing the negative impacts of the push-up dams in the lower North Fork was given priority.


PROJECT HISTORY

This project was initiated in 1997-98 with the goal of replacing these temporary gravel push-up dams with permanent pumping stations that eliminate the need for in-stream modifications.  The first two such pumping stations were installed during the six-week in-stream construction window in the summer of 1998, and have worked well since, eliminating two push-up dams.  The subsequent listing of Mid-Columbia Steelhead required that an Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) be conducted before work began on the three pumping stations scheduled for installation in 1999.  NMFS mandated the use of a smaller-mesh fish screen, which in turn required the development of an automated cleaning system.  The necessary reengineering delayed the projects past the in-stream work window in 1999.  Two were then installed in 2000, with another two scheduled for replacement in 2001.  However, where the 1998 installations have worked well for irrigators, the 2000 installations have proven problematic.  In the beginning of the 2001 irrigation season it became clear that the fish screens were prone to clogging and required daily maintenance by irrigators.  It also became clear that two of the proposed sites were too shallow for the existing designs.  Further installations were delayed until 2002 so that improved designs could be developed.  Unfortunately continued landowner hesitation, uncertainties over the engineering of alternative designs and the absence of a coordinator in the critical work window between June and August of 2002 prevented the installation of more pump stations in 2002-3.  However considerable progress was made in designing future installations, and in 2004, five fish-friendly diversions were installed.  In 2005 seven additional fish-friendly diversions were installed and ground work was laid for another 8 scheduled for 2006.

The project also includes a monitoring component, which aims to 1) document the changes at project sites over time through photo monitoring, and 2) determine whether in fact push-up dams result in warming of downstream flows.  High temperatures are the principle water quality concern in this stretch of river, and objective data addressing this issue is needed to evaluate the role that removing push-up dams plays in addressing water quality concerns.  Analysis of infrared imagery showing stream temperatures and preliminary point in time and continuous water temperature recordings indicate that push up dams may warm, not effect, or occasionally, cool, water temperatures, based on site-specific factors.   We plan to continue to investigate this question in fiscal year 2006.

While the North Fork John Day Watershed Council and the Monument SWCD have taken the lead on this project, it is at its heart a collaborative effort that has relied on the contributions of numerous parties, including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Columbia Power Cooperative, the John Day Basin Office of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, and above all the land owners and irrigators of the project area.