Success Stories

Native Fish Society River Steward Program

Molalla River, Oregon, achievement timeline

One river that has seen remarkable victories in a few short years due to the Native Fish Society River Steward Program is the Molalla River, which now has the healthiest run of Upper Willamette winter steelhead, thanks in large part to the Stewards’ efforts. The following is a list of accomplishments made by NFS Molalla River Stewards to protect and restore the river’s native fish populations.

• 2003: Stopped a proposed gravel mine in the river’s floodplain.
• 2005-present: Conducted spawning surveys of winter steelhead and spring chinook.
• 2005-present: Delivered more than 10,000 hatchery salmon carcasses to the river for nutrient enhancement.
• 2005-present: Participated in environmental education, twice annual river cleanups, and trail enhancement through a partnership with the local watershed council.
• 2005-2006: Mounted a campaign to stop the city of Molalla from discharging treated sewage into the river that included a lawsuit against the city of Molalla for ten years of violations of the Clean Water Act. A settlement with the city brought $110,000 to the river for native fish restoration projects. The campaign also resulted in a first-ever ballot measure to the residents of Molalla that permitted the citizens to choose whether or not they wanted wastewater from the city to be discharged into the river.
• 2005: Replaced a fish barrier culvert on Russell Creek with a bridge that opened up an 8 acre wetland to salmonid rearing.
• 2006-2009: Received three $10,000 contracts from National Marine Fisheries Service to continue fish enhancement projects on the river.
• 2007-present: Facilitated the start of the Molalla River Alliance, which has been instrumental in reducing lawlessness in the Molalla River Recreation Corridor. Bills have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to designate 21 miles of the Upper Molalla as Wild and Scenic. NFS involvement in the designation included lobbying representatives in Salem, OR, and Washington, D.C., creating the promotional flyer, and co-writing the report “The Ecological and Recreational Benefits of the Molalla River.”
• 2008: Effected angling regulation changes that moved the salmon and steelhead fishing deadline four miles downstream and removed the use of bait on the river for 10 months of the year.
• 2008: Placed angling regulation signs throughout the drainage.
• 2009: Began a temperature monitoring program of the Molalla River, using temperature gauges spread throughout the drainage.
• 2009: Wrote recovery actions for Molalla River winter steelhead and spring Chinook that are being incorporated into the Upper Willamette Recovery Plan.
• 2009: Developed a wild spring Chinook reintroduction plan that is being incorporated into the Upper Willamette Recovery Plan.
• 2009-2010: NFS has submitted funding proposals to create Large Woody Debris habitat on the North Fork Molalla, replace fish barrier culverts on Cedar, Pine and Trout creeks, screen an irrigation ditch on Shady Dell Creek, and conduct a study of Upper Willamette coastal cutthroat.

During a visit to the Molalla River in September 2009, U.S. Representative Kurt Schrader, who introduced the Wild and Scenic bill in the House said, “These things can be controversial when they are proposed, but you did all the groundwork. What impressed me the most about the project is the way you guys put it together. You made the partnerships, you embraced the community, you talked to the different players. Frankly, you guys are a good example of how projects should be put together going forward.

Zach Jarrett of the Bureau of Land Management said, “We manage five river corridors within the Salem district and by far the Molalla corridor has the most community support.”