Kilchis and Little North Fork Wilson Rivers, Oregon
- Photo courtesy of Bob Van Dyk: Little North Fork Wilson River
The Little North Fork of the Wilson River and the Kilchis River drain mountainous coastal temperate rainforests at the northern end of the Oregon Coast Range, in Tillamook County, just west of Portland — Oregon’s largest urban center. Both watersheds are almost entirely encompassed by the Tillamook State Forest. The Kilchis drains directly into the Tillamook Bay, and the Little North Fork drains into the Wilson River, which also flows into the Tillamook Bay.
These rivers provide habitat for a wide variety of native fish and other aquatic species, including Chinook, chum, and coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout. The land between and including these two rivers contains large areas of conifer-dominated, unfragmented forests that produce a high-quality drinking water supply. These river basins also provide diverse recreational opportunities, including fishing, boating, hiking and camping.
Although most of these watersheds are managed by the state of Oregon, some lands are privately managed, and some are federally managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The federal lands contain some of the last intact old-growth conifer riparian habitat that remains in Oregon’s coastal ecosystems.
Much of this area has been formally recognized in some way for its high aquatic values. The Little North Fork Wilson River and Middle Kilchis River both are designated as "Salmon Anchor Habitats" by Oregon's Departments of Forestry and Fish and Wildlife. Both the Little North Fork and the Kilchis are specifically noted for their habitat and spawning grounds that benefit chum and fall Chinook salmon. The federal Northwest Forest Plan also identifies both the Kilchis and the Little North Fork as Tier 1 Key Watersheds, meaning that these areas are intended to serve as high quality refugia for aquatic species including salmonids and resident fish.
Threats
Despite their high value for sensitive aquatic species and as drinking water sources, these rivers face ongoing threats from logging and development, while continuing to suffer from the legacy effects of past harvest practices and associated roadbuilding.
- Kilchis River, Oregon. Photo courtesy Chris Frissell, PRC
Logging after large wildfires between the 1920s and 1950s in the Tillamook Forest, especially along riparian corridors, left these river basins with an inadequate supply of large woody debris, an important component of healthy fish habitat. Currently, because streamside areas are dominated by young trees, the large trees necessary for optimal habitat formation are still in short supply. Problems created by the lack of mature streamside forests include inadequate off-channel winter habitat where coho and cutthroat can take refuge during high flows. Also, stream temperatures are high in some areas of the Kilchis Rivers, potentially affecting salmonid spawning, incubation, and rearing. The Kilchis is also water quality limited for E. Coli, fecal coliform, flow modification, habitat modification, and temperature, but TMDLs have been developed where required by the Clean Water Act. The Little North Fork Wilson is water quality limited for flow modification, and its protection is important to avoid contributing to ongoing failures to meet the dissolved oxygen water quality standard downstream in the mainstem Wilson River.
The forest road system built to harvest trees on the Tillamook State Forest directly affects the quality of aquatic habitat by routing sediment directly into stream channels, harming fish and degrading habitat. Although many forest roads have been vastly improved in recent years under more modern design standards, more road remediation and removal work is necessary to stormproof roads and achieve the minimum necessary road system.
Existing state and federal policies are inadequate to fully protect the unique values of the Kilchis and the Little North Fork Wilson. Although Oregon currently provides special restrictions on timber harvest in the two Salmon Anchor Habitats within these basins, these protections are slated to sunset in 2013. Furthermore, the Oregon Board of Forestry recently decided to increase timber harvest on the Tillamook Forest despite the harm it would cause to aquatic species.
- Read a news article describing the decision.
- Read our testimony regarding the proposal.
- Read editorials in the Oregonian (in June and September) and the Daily Astorian criticizing the Board's decision.
- View a map (caution, large file) prepared by the Wild Salmon Center that shows clearcuts proposed in the Little North Fork Wilson under this new plan.
- Listen to an episode of OPB's Think Out Loud discussing management of Oregon State's Forests.
- Read a 12 conservation group letter to Governor Kulongoski requesting that he ask the Board of Forestry to ensure scientific peer review before any changes are made to state forest management plans and to diversify the Board of Forestry to include conservation and scientific community representation.
- Read an article explaining a petition that we filed with the Board of Forestry, along with other conservation groups, asking the Board to reverse its decision to increase timber harvest on the Tillamook Forest.
- Read an article describing the petition and the economic issues surrounding the logging increase, including low lumber prices and recreation's economic value.
These important watersheds have also been threatened by changes in federal management. The Bureau of Land Management’s 2008 Western Oregon Plan Revisions drastically increased allowable timber harvest along streams, called for more road-building, and abandoned the key watershed protections provided by the Northwest Forest Plan. Fortunately, the Obama administration withdrew the plans after recognizing that they were legally indefensible.
Opportunities
- Headwaters of the Kilchis River in the Tillamook State Forest. This land would be profoundly affected by the Board of Forestry's recent decisions to increase timber harvest in Oregon State Forests. Photo by C. Frissell, PRC
Oregonians greatly value the multiple values provide by the forested watersheds in the Kilchis and Little North Fork Wilson Rivers. Polling confirms that most Oregonians find the benefits of clean water, fish, wildlife and recreation provided by the Tillamook State Forest to be both tangible and highly valuable. And most Oregonians believe that the goals of forest management should include ecosystem restoration and watershed health, not just timber production.
Contact:
Mary Scurlock, Policy Director, PRC
Other Organizations Working to Protect and Restore the Kilchis and Little North Fork Wilson:
Tillamook Bay Watershed Council
Wild Salmon Center; also see their Oregon State Forest Page
Sierra Club
