Engineered log jams in the Elwha River, such as the one above, are key to salmon habitat restoration

Project Title

Biological response to log jam placement in large river systems

Description

The restoration of freshwater habitat in larger river systems through the placement of large log jams is becoming a major component of bank protection and salmon habitat restoration efforts. This project will evaluate how these large log jams:

• Redistribute adult salmon.
• Affect juvenile salmon use and growth rates.
• Affect periphyton and macroinvertebrate response (densities and community composition).

Investigators

George Pess, Peter Kiffney, Martin Liermann, and Todd Bennett

Collaborators

Roger Peters (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Michael McHenry (Lower Elwha Tribe); Pat Stevenson (Stillaguamish Tribe); Marylou White and Jamie Glasgow (Washington Trout); Holly Coe (Frank Orth); Tim Abbe, PhD (Herrera Environmental, Inc); and Kris Kloehn (Frank Orth)

Support

Lower Elwha Tribe, Stillaguamish Tribe, Washington Trout, and NOAA Fisheries. Funding provided by Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB)

Project Status

Data collection and analysis ongoing

Relevant Publications

Coe, H.J., P.M. Kiffney and G.R. Pess. In Review. A comparison of methods to evaluate biological responses to wood placement in large Pacific coastal rivers. Freshwater Biology.

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