Restoring Healthy Rivers, Forests, and Communities
Healthy watersheds are built through collaboration. We partner with landowners, communities, agencies, and volunteers to restore rivers, improve habitat, and strengthen the resilience of the South Santiam Watershed for future generations.
Our Restoration Approach
Riparian Restoration
Planting native trees and shrubs to stabilize streambanks, improve water quality, and create a healthy habitat for fish and wildlife.
Fish Passage
Removing barriers and improving stream crossings so native fish can reach important spawning and rearing habitat.
In-stream Habitat
Restoring natural stream processes by adding wood and other habitat features that support healthy rivers.
Beaver Coexistence
Helping landowners reduce conflicts while supporting the many ecological benefits beavers provide.
Explore Our Work Across the Watershed
Restoration happens in many places and in many ways across the South Santiam Watershed. Our interactive Project Map makes it easy to explore the work we're doing with landowners, agencies, and community partners. Hover over a project to learn about its completion date, funding, and accomplishments.
Explore the map below and see your watershed in action.
How Restoration Happens
Every restoration project begins with a conversation. From the first site visit to long-term stewardship, we work alongside landowners, communities, and partners to restore healthy rivers and resilient landscapes.
1. Site Visit
Every project begins by getting to know the land and the people who care for it. We meet with landowners and partners to understand their goals, identify opportunities, and explore solutions.
2. Planning
Our staff assess site conditions, gather technical information, and work with partners to develop a restoration plan tailored to the unique needs of the landscape.
3. Funding
We help identify grant opportunities and coordinate project funding, making restoration more accessible for participating landowners and communities.
4. Restoration
Working with contractors, volunteers, agencies, and landowners, restoration projects are implemented to improve habitat, reconnect streams, plant native vegetation, and strengthen watershed health.
5. Monitoring
Restoration doesn't end when construction is complete. We monitor projects over time to evaluate success, learn from results, and ensure long-term benefits for fish, wildlife, and communities.
6. Stewardship
Healthy watersheds require ongoing care. Through continued partnerships and community stewardship, restoration projects continue to grow and provide benefits for generations to come.
Every restoration project is made possible through collaboration. Together with landowners, volunteers, agencies, Tribes, and community partners, we're building a healthier South Santiam Watershed—one project at a time.
Featured Restoration Projects
NOAA Fish Passage Improvement Project
In 2025, the South Santiam Watershed Council improved fish passage at three road crossings on Cascade Timber Consulting-managed lands. The project replaced two undersized culverts with bridges on Ames Creek, and one culvert was replaced with an open-bottom culvert on the SS500 Road, allowing migratory fish to reach high-quality habitat in the upper South Santiam basin.
Thomas Creek Side Channel Habitat Enhancement Project
In 2017, the South Santiam Watershed Council led the Thomas Creek Side Channel Project, located about 8.5 miles east of Scio along Highway 226. The project improved fish habitat by adding large wood structures to the stream, creating a more diverse and complex habitat for both adult and juvenile fish.
Canyon-Owl Steelhead Habitat Enhancement
The Canyon-Owl Steelhead Enhancement project involved placing large wood into upper Canyon and Owl Creeks to improve spawning and rearing habitat for winter steelhead. The project utilized innovative structures in Canyon Creek that improve rearing habitat for juvenile winter steelhead where Canyon and Owl Creeks converge. These structures, known as "island jams" and "meander jams," help capture material in the water, leading to the formation of gravel bars, pool formation, and ultimately channel stabilization so juvenile fish have ample habitat opportunities in this important stream reach.
Moose Creek Steelhead Habitat Improvement Project
Moose Creek is one of the South Santiam Watershed's most important streams for native winter steelhead. To improve spawning and rearing habitat, the South Santiam Watershed Council partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations to restore over 2.5 miles of stream habitat.
By placing large wood throughout the stream, the project created more complex habitat, improved gravel retention for spawning, and enhanced conditions for steelhead and other native fish.
Wiley Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project
An aging culvert on Wiley Creek prevented native fish from reaching upstream habitat and contributed to erosion and poor water quality. In partnership with The Campbell Group, the South Santiam Watershed Council replaced the failing culvert with a bridge designed to restore the stream's natural function.
The new crossing allows fish to move freely, reduces erosion and sediment, and improves habitat for winter steelhead, spring Chinook, Pacific lamprey, cutthroat trout, and other native species.
Ames Creek Restoration
Natural barriers at the mouth of Ames Creek limited fish access to important upstream habitat. Working with local, state, and federal partners, the South Santiam Watershed Council designed and constructed a series of natural rock structures that allow fish to move more easily between the South Santiam River and Ames Creek.
The project restored access to valuable habitat for winter steelhead and trout while maintaining the natural character of the stream.
