Tuesday July 30, 2024
Oregon Public Broadcasting —
A conservation group in Springfield, Oregon, has won $8.5 million in federal funding, which will pay for floodplain restorations along the Willamette River and its tributaries.
The plan is to reconnect waterways in the Upper Willamette Basin to several of their historic offshoots and side-channels. The McKenzie Watershed Alliance is receiving federal dollars on behalf of its partners in the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network.
Jared Weybright is the Alliance’s executive director. He said human development has simplified the state’s rivers, preventing some beneficial flooding.
“Restoring the flow is a way to then support natural processes that are going to create habitat over time, and maintain it for native species,” said Weybright. “[This] can help with groundwater and water quality as well, benefitting not only the species but also surrounding communities.”