The Use of Large Woody Material (LWM) to Promote a Dynamic and Diverse Channel with Increased Floodplain Connectivity on the Bird Track Springs Fish Habitat Enhancement Project
Nick Danis, PE
Stantec
Portland, Oregon
The Bird Track Springs Fish Habitat Enhancement Project is located on the Grande Ronde River, on USFS and private land, near La Grande, Oregon. The Grande Ronde River provides critical habitat for Snake River ESA-listed Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout. Anthropogenic alteration of the watershed has affected channel morphology, instream diversity/complexity, riparian/wetland communities, habitat quality/quantity, and fish habitat suitability/productivity.
The project goals include: restore floodplain connectivity, improve channel morphology and in-stream process, improve hydrologic connectivity and function, restore habitat complexity and diversity, and restore riparian and wetlands function. The project included construction of approximately 5,000 linear feet of new main channel Grande Ronde River (including four confluences with the existing channel) and 9,500 feet of new side channels. At project completion, earthwork quantities totaled over 80,000 cubic yards of excavated material.
A total of 293 large wood structures and complexes were installed along the main channel and side channels to provide complex and diverse habitat components within the project reach. Purposes of the large wood structures included creating hydraulic conditions that maintain deep pool habitat complexity and diversity, providing temporary streambank protection by redirecting flow and shear stress from near bank, stable bank conditions for establishing riparian vegetation, providing overhead cover, velocity refuge, organic nutrients that support food web processes, and complex rearing and holding habitat.
During the 2-year construction, Stantec had staff on-site full time to monitor Large Woody Material installation. This enabled our team to more frequently interact with the contractor and project sponsors, to understand the project performance in real time, and discuss implementation efficiencies and potential modifications for future projects. This cooperation resulted in a successful project and a cohesive project team that was able to work together again on a similar project immediately downstream.
About Nick Danis, PE
As an ecosystem restoration project engineer, Nick has extensive experience with engineering design and instream geomorphic studies—specializing in large woody material, fish passage, stream crossing design, habitat diversity, and regulatory compliance for in-stream work. His philosophy for stream restoration is to make it as fishy as possible!
With 15 years’ of roadway, water resources, and restoration design experience, Nick works with clients and stakeholders to create seamless design that balances project goals with client needs and budgets. He’s accomplished in AutoCAD Civil 3D, digital terrain model (DTM) creation and modification, and applies his skills with the Bank Stability and Toe-Erosion Model (BSTEM) to streams worldwide. His experience encompasses rivers and streams across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, with a focus in the Pacific Northwest.
In his spare time, Nick enjoys spending time with his two beautiful German Shorthaired Pointers. They’re a handful, but they’re his baby girls.
