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By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune October 03. 2014 5:41PM Wagner Creek work would restore streambank TALENT — Stream bank restoration on Wagner Creek within the city could begin as soon as next summer if permits and property owner permission are secured. The Freshwater Trust of Portland already has funds available from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for fish habitat improvement projects in upper Bear Creek and its tributaries. Some of that money could be used for a Wagner Creek project within the first mile of the creek’s confluence with Bear Creek, said Trevor Griffiths, the trust’s habitat restoration project manager for Southern Oregon. Friends of Wagner Creek, a city subcommittee, is collaborating with the trust. The Friends have studied and worked on creek issues for several years. Griffiths and Cynthia Care with the Friends group explained the project to City Council in September. “It is a community-based effort out of seeing a need for having a more healthy stream system for pollinators and wildlife,” Griffiths said this week. “We are designing a project … to spur that effort and continue that and give them a model of what is involved and other methods.” Native fish use the stream year round, and the lower first mile provides a refuge for migrating fish when temperatures in Bear Creek are too high. But invasive species now cover the creek banks in many areas in town and beyond. Without treatment Wagner Creek would continue to degrade as a riparian corridor. As overstory trees die off, younger trees would not replace them due to invasive species such as blackberry and reed canary grass. Without shade, water temperature would rise to unhealthy levels for salmon. First choice for the project includes an area owned by electric vehicle manufacturer Brammo at the former Walmart site, where up to 1,000 feet of bank could be treated. Brammo has been supportive of the proposal, Griffiths said. The other side of the creek is behind a coffee kiosk located off Highway 99 south of West Valley View Road. “The project isn’t a complete go-ahead this time. We still need to figure out the final details,” said Griffiths. That would include getting approval from all property owners and securing any city permits required. Permits for stream bank restoration work are already in place from other agencies, he said. The Friends will designate a liaison to work with the city and property owners, according to a document presented to City Council, which has voiced support for the project. Discussions of improvements for Wagner Creek have been going on for more than 15 years. “Best case, the site prep work would be in 2015 with removal of blackberries and follow-up treatment,” said Griffiths. That would be followed by planting of native trees and shrubs in fall and winter. Funds for long-term maintenance, up to eight years, are available to make sure plants survive and invasive species don’t return. Creek banks from the confluence with Bear Creek would be a second choice for a project. Besides improving water quality and reducing temperatures, the work would stabilize the stream bank to help mitigate flood damage. Earlier ideas of a trail beside the entire creek have been shelved by the Friends. About 1,800 feet of creekside pathways are already in place. “We are not planning on any kind of hiking trail for the length of the creek because some of the bank is too steep for that and it would possibly create some erosion, which would be bad for the water quality,” said Care. Tony Boom is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected].   http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141003/NEWS/141009857 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->