July 16

Day 2: Warm Springs

Today we woke up very early. We ate some fuel and headed to meet our contacts with Warm Springs Fish and Wildlife, Jason Grant (Habitat Biologist) and Austin Smith (Wildlife Technician).



Initial restoration spot with Jason Grant (light cap) and Austin Smith (dark cap).

They would end up taking us to two restoration spots; one fully restored and one yet to be started. The first was a restoration of Shitike Creek at Warm Springs.



The once straight channel is now back to its original winding self

Read more about Shitike Creek and its project in this beautiful article here.






Shitike Creek restoration project

Next we learned about Austin Smith's project with tracking mule deer and ended our day at Potters Pond. It was a mill site where mill creek was dammed up with berms to make ponds for curing wood. Previous to this, the creek had been a spawning ground for salmon. The restoration project would see the partial removal of berms and the restoration of a natural stream and floodplains.

Austin showing us radio collars and tracking device