The West Fork Hood River Red Hill Large Wood Placement Project was a two phase Large Wood Restoration project designed and implemented by the Tribes with cooperation with USFS Hood River Ranger District. The objectives of this project were focused on improving instream habitat complexity for the recovery of Chinook salmon and steelhead in the Hood River basin.
Phase 1, implemented in 2016, consisted of placing 430 logs and 42 tipped trees (into 19 structures) in the stream channel over a 0.4 mile section of the restoration project reach. Phase 2, implemented in 2017, added an additional 450 logs and 45 tipped trees (22 structures) instream over an adjacent 0.4 miles of stream. Upon completion of the project, 0.8 miles of the West Fork Hood River were treated with ~880 logs and 87 tipped trees. Over ten pool habitats were created, and eleven historic side channel or overflow stream channels were reconnected to main stream channel – offering off channel habitat for salmonids to escape the high flows associated with flooding events.
Below are some before-and-after images from the project site.