Crane/Domeyer/Willow Bar Restoration Project

cbec teamed with Wolf Water Resources on this project series commissioned by the Columbia River Estuary Task Force (CREST), with support from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Bonneville Power Administration.

This series aimed to benefit salmonids, beaver, waterfowl, reptiles, and amphibians, whose habitat had been degraded by disconnected tidal influence. The three separate sites of concern are at Willow Bar and the Crane and Domeyer Wetlands. These are all part of the ODFW managed Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, a floodplain refuge habitat just downstream of the urban waterfront corridors on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Two of the sites are near the Gilbert River and are adjacent to one another (Crane and Domeyer). The third site, Willow Bar, is off the mainstem Columbia River. Each of the sites has isolated wetlands which are sporadically connected by higher level flows, one with a failing water control structure.

cbec conducted feasibility studies, modeling, and initial designs during Phase I of this project. This consisted of background research on existing reports and documents, technical analysis of existing monitoring data, and the gathering of bathymetric and topographic data. From this, cbec prepared an existing conditions 2-dimensional hydrodynamic model and associated data for the three project sites (included within a larger associated 280 square kilometer SRH-2D model domain of the Columbia and Willamette River systems). cbec later went on to adapt this numerical model for the Flights End Restoration Concept Modeling and Alternative Analysis project, also for the same client. The model was used to support the subsequent feasibility analysis and initial design efforts for the restoration project. The consultant team used the model outcomes to identify potential restoration concepts, leading to the selection of a preferred restoration design for each of the three sites to maximize habitat availability and accessibility. Building off the design concepts cbec provided, construction was completed in 2016 on all three sites.

Waterbody / Watershed

Gilbert River, Columbia River, Willamette River

Disciplines