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Reconnecting a Historic Side Channel on the Applegate River This winter, APWC is starting work on the Applegate River Mile 25 Side Channel Restoration Project near Applegate, Oregon. The project will restore ~0.65 miles of side channel on private properties along the river. Side channels are smaller channels that branch off from a river and are important habitat for juvenile salmon. They provide slower water, refuge during high flows, and areas where young fish can feed and grow. Since construction of Applegate Dam, much of this off-channel rearing habitat has been eliminated in our watershed.
Like many of our restoration projects, this work will take place within a river floodway and requires surveying and hydraulic modeling and goes through multiple levels of permitting. Professional designs help us understand how the river will respond during high flows and changing conditions. Design work will continue through 2026, with a goal of construction in 2027.
Good news from Cheney Creek For the past three winters, APWC has partnered with a fisheries biologist to conduct spawning surveys on Cheney Creek. These surveys track adult salmon and count redds, the nests female salmon create in stream gravel to lay their eggs. This winter brought especially encouraging results. Redd counts jumped from 16 last year to 116 this winter, more than six times higher than the previous season. Adult observations also increased dramatically, rising from 11 to 44, roughly four times as many adults as last year. Despite relatively low stream flows this season, Cheney Creek saw a strong surge in spawning activity. Spawning surveys are one way we measure how fish populations are responding to habitat conditions over time. While ocean cycles and other factors influence annual returns, this strong increase is a promising sign for the watershed. The next challenge for these young fish will be surviving the low flows and warm temperatures of a Southern Oregon summer so they can grow strong enough to begin their journey to the ocean.
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