This project also provides emergency egress to the local community during flooding events. The project site is located in the town of Neskowin, Oregon in Tillamook County at the southern end of Tillamook County.

The Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project increased access to 250 acres of riverine estuary, tidal scrub/shrub, and tidal forest wetland rearing habitat and 5 miles of spawning habitat for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, Chum salmon, Steelhead trout, Pacific lamprey, and Cutthroat trout. The project replaced three undersized culverts and two tide gates with two 32’ bridges sized to meet federal and state fish passage requirements. The crossing structures are associated with the construction of an emergency egress road, which replaced the former road, which blocked hydraulic exchange and fish passage.

This project addressed threats to fish associated with altered tidal exchange and climate change. The removal of tide gates and culverts increased connectivity and created more tidal flushing. Tidal flushing creates a more natural salinity gradient for estuary salmonids during the juvenile rearing phase when they are migrating out of tributaries and into more saline environments. The bridges convey water across Hawk Street without concentrating flows through culverts and creating velocity barriers for juvenile salmonids. With more frequent high flow events, access to off-channel and alcove habitats that wetlands provide is essential for velocity refugia. The Neskowin Estuary-Wetland complex is considered a small estuary, and the project benefited fish habitat for three of PMEP’s priority focal species.

The Final ESA Recovery Plan for Oregon Coast Coho Salmon (NMFS 2016) states that lack of floodplain habitat, rearing habitat, and overwintering habitat are primary factors limiting Coho recovery. The plan specifically states that “increasing rearing capacity is the best way to improve the resilience of Oregon Coast coho salmon in the face of anticipated future reductions in marine survival” (3-15). This project reconnected floodplain habitat and increased the amount of rearing habitat available to juvenile Coho by removing passage barriers in Hawk and Butte Creeks. The recovery plan also states that increasing overwinter rearing habitat is the top priority for the ESU’s recovery (6- 7). The Oregon Coast Coho Conservation Plan for the State of Oregon also points to the importance of rearing habitat for coho recovery. Hawk and Butte Creeks and the Neskowin Marsh provide winter rearing habitat. Juvenile fish were previously blocked from accessing these habitats during critical high flow times of the year. This project increased juvenile access to these important habitat areas, which will become even more important as climate change conditions increase.

Before project implementation, the road blocked hydraulic exchange and fish passage across the wetland. The Neskowin tidal scrub/shrub and forest wetland complex extend for 250 acres on the east side of the crossings. During high winter flows and storm surges, the culverts in the project site were often overtopped and easily clogged with debris, posing a flood risk for Neskowin residents and a maintenance challenge for the County. Hawk Street itself acted as a partial dike, blocking flow between the northern and southern portions of Hawk Creek.

Neskowin Creek, Hawk Creek, and Butte Creek flow through the community of Neskowin and merge to form an estuary before emptying into the Pacific Ocean (see project and vicinity maps). Hawk Street is a county-owned footpath that runs north of the state-owned Neskowin Beach Wayside. Hawk Street crossed over two tide-gated circular culverts on Butte Creek. Hawk street crossed another culvert on Hawk Creek and an additional culvert on a wetland channel called Tributary 1. Fish passage and natural stream function were limited in Hawk, Butte Creeks, and Tributary 1 due to these crossings; the culverts and associated tide gates were undersized and failing. The culverts were velocity barriers to juveniles during high flows, limiting the fish’s ability to access critical rearing and refuge habitat. The Hawk Creek barrier was on the Salmon Superhighway Culvert Prioritization List. The Butte Creek barrier was ranked as a High priority in NNSLWC’s 2006 Culvert Prioritization and was a high priority on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Passage Priority List.

The original Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project included the replacement of the Hawk and Butte Creek Crossings, and the greater egress project completed construction of the road and the oversized box culvert to replace the current Tributary 1 crossing. Combining these two projects eliminated these major fish passage barriers, providing greater ecological and community benefits.

Human Interest/Community Benefit:

This project has significant ecological and community benefits. The project opened up access for ESA-listed species in two streams to previously completed NNSLWC restoration projects in upstream habitats in both Butte and Hawk Creeks. By replacing culverts that blocked fish passage with a bridge, the project also has improved public access to the Neskowin Marsh Refuge AND addressed seasonal flooding issues that have impacted private property owners. The project provided the Neskowin community with an emergency egress road that meets the 100-year flood criteria. Previously the only other access was via a bridge that is regularly overtopped by storm surges during winter and high tides. The roads connecting to that bridge also flood to the point where normal vehicle passage is not possible. This secondary access road will be only used by vehicles during emergencies (such as flooding) but will be open to bike and foot traffic all the time. The road now forms the western border of the Neskowin Marsh Refuge, part of the USFWS Coastal Refuge system. The Refuge is home to many migratory birds, and beavers and is critical rearing habitat for salmon. The access road now provides improved access for wildlife viewing and enjoyment.

Project Timeline:

Construction began in the spring of 2021, and the project was completed in the spring of 2022. The emergency egress road project was first recommended to the County in 2014 by a local committee addressing coastal hazards faced by the Neskowin village. Fundraising efforts were begun by the county and then with the inclusion of the fish passage improvements by the NNSLWC. The project was delayed several times by complications with property ownership and the challenges of building a road through a wetland. The funding plan also included grants that had to be specifically approved by the Oregon Legislature, thus subject to a long political process.

Partners: 

NNSLWC, OWEB, ODFW, Tillamook County Public Works, USFWS, USFS