At the mouth, Ames Creek fell through a steep bedrock channel, with a drop of 17% over the lower 80 ft.  The elevation was lost at two main features:  the upper drop was 20 ft. long and rose nearly 6 ft.  The lower drop was a nearly vertical 6 ft. drop. These conditions posed a fish passage issue for migrating steelhead and trout in the South Santiam River.

The site is located about 4 miles downstream of Foster Dam on the South Santiam River, which in combination with Green Peter Dam, control flooding on the river. Like many dams, there are benefits and costs associated with them. One benefit here is greatly reduced flooding in the communities downstream of the dams, but one cost is that the dams have greatly reduced the amount of backflooding into tributaries like Ames Creek that historically occurred and allowed fish to easily enter the creek.  The SSWC made it a priority to seek a solution to this unusual issue.

In the spring of 2006 the SSWC contracted with Inter-fluve Inc. to conduct a feasibility analysis and develop alternative design concepts to address fish passage problems at the mouth and at three culverts located within the City of Sweet Home.  During the process, assistance was granted from agency partners and important feedback was delivered to the SSWC and Inter-fluve.  At the completion of the technical assistance project, a stakeholder meeting was held in Sweet Home with agency personnel and concerned citizens present.  The meeting offered the SSWC an opportunity to release the results of the technical assistance project through a presentation by Mike Burke, PE, Inter-fluve.

The SSWC secured funding for constructing a project that will allow for more consistent fish passage into Ames Creek.  The project funders are the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s R&E Program, and federal Title II Payments to Counties.

After permits were secured, the project was implemented in September-October, 2012. A series of bedrock and boulder weirs were constructed with step pools to facilitate fish passage with a natural aesthetic.  Students from the Sweet Home Youth Watershed Council are involved in re-vegetation efforts at the site.