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Coquille habitat project garners awards
Monday, February 8, 2010
Local forest land managers received awards at the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting Friday for their work to improve fish and wildlife resources through forest stewardship activities on the north fork of the Coquille River.
The awards are presented by the Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Forestry to recognize the efforts of landowners who contribute substantially to fish and wildlife through forest stewardship and who work for the long-term conservation of Oregon's native species in step with the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds and the Oregon Conservation Strategy.
Foresters Tom Hoesly with Menasha Forest Products Corporation in North Bend and Joel Nelson with Plum Creek in Coos Bay were both honored with awards.
Over the past two years, Menasha Forest Products Corporation and Plum Creek partnered with the Coquille Watershed Association, ODFW and ODF to implement a large-scale habitat project that will improve habitat in 20 miles of streams in the North Fork Coquille watershed.
According to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the 2008 phase of the project is the largest-scale instream restoration project ever implemented in Oregon. The streams provide important spawning and rearing habitat for coho and chinook salmon, steelhead trout and resident cutthroat trout. The increase in large wood and pool complexity will be immediate and enhance through time.
The award program, jointly administered by ODFW and ODF, was created in 1996. Since that time, 45 forest landowners have received the Steward Award for Forest Lands.
