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This planning effort focused on identifying and prioritizing activities and projects for the Council and watershed stakeholders to conduct in addressing watershed health problems and opportunities. The purpose of the project was to develop a Comprehensive Watershed Action Plan accessible and useful to the Council, its partners, local jurisdictions and watershed stakeholders.
The Watershed Action Planning process included four primary tasks: 1) Collect and analyze information to develop a watershed assessment; 2) Involve the public in developing the plan, and create a strategy for encouraging landowner participation; 3) Develop criteria to prioritize projects and actions; and 4) Document the planning process and results.
One of the main goals of the Watershed Assessment is to identify, prioritize, and sequence specific projects and actions necessary to address factors limiting watershed health. The overall goal of the Action Plan is to protect, restore, and enhance the health and function of the Johnson Creek watershed. To accomplish this goal, the action plan must also:
The Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC) formed in 1994 to meet the need for a Watershed Management organization identified by the Johnson Creek Resource Management Plan. The organization is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating community investment in the Johnson Creek Watershed for protection and enhancement of its natural resources. The Council provides 24 positions representing the broad array of stakeholders within the watershed. Council members are elected by the Council to serve renewable two-year terms. Ten reach representatives speak for neighborhoods throughout the watershed, eight jurisdictional representatives maintain contact with local jurisdictions, and six representatives keep the council in touch with the following groups: agriculture/nursery, environmental, education, small woodlots/forestry, business and industry, and homebuilders and developers.
The Council provides a forum for discussion of complex watershed management issues. It collaborates with governments, neighbors, environmentalists, recreational users and businesses to provide stewardship, educational, and outreach activities. It sponsors tours, hikes, bike trips, workshops, and classes that educate the public about this natural resource and its neighborhoods. The Council participates in land use decisions and planning through membership on advisory committees and formal feedback to councils and commissions. The Council facilitates, implements, and advises on restoration projects to improve watershed function and health.
The JCWC assembled a Technical Advisory Committee to assist with the development of the Watershed Action Plan. TAC members and their affiliations include:
Jeff Uebel |
USDA Forest Service, JCWC Chair, and watershed resident |
Jon Bowers |
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, JCWC Council member, and watershed resident |
Karl Lee |
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Kim Peoples, Chuck Beasley |
Multnomah County |
John Nagy |
Clackamas County |
Ruthanne Bennett |
City of Milwaukie |
Kathy Majidi, Lynne Kennedy |
City of Gresham |
Ali Young, Daniela Brod |
City of Portland |
Ted Gresh |
Planning Consultant and Restoration Committee member |
TAC members’ role included 1) review of deliverables including public outreach plan and materials, watershed assessment, and criteria development; 2) submittal of recommended projects and analysis of prioritization process; 3) review of draft and final reports; and 4) coordinating with and informing local constituency groups of project progress. Monthly meetings were held beginning in January 2003.
See Chapter 7 – Action Plan Implementation for a preliminary list of project sponsors and potential partners and their associated roles and responsibilities.
There are a number of planning efforts focused on the Johnson Creek watershed and related to this Action Plan. These planning efforts were conducted to satisfy local, state, or federal requirements or were completed as part of other watershed planning and management activities by local agencies, regional governments, or cooperating organizations. Please see Appendix H –Annotated Bibliography (PDF, 123 KB) for summaries on these and other Johnson Creek related documents.
The Watershed Action Plan differs from other plans because it summarizes problems and opportunities throughout the entire watershed taking a holistic approach and focusing on watershed functions. Nevertheless, the Watershed Action Plan builds upon results of and is consistent with recommendations included in many of these other plans.
There are numerous projects that are in progress or have been completed by a host of watershed stakeholders. A list of projects and a map of the project locations is provided in Appendix F (PDF, 12KB). The list provides only a few examples and is not intended to be comprehensive. The following summary highlights four completed or ongoing programs that have wide application for watershed restoration and protection efforts throughout the Johnson Creek watershed. They were chosen based on their recent and significant accomplishments.
Since 1988, the City of Portland’s Watershed Revegetation Program has partnered with local agencies, volunteers, businesses, and other stakeholders in the watershed. From 1998 through 2002, a total of 31 revegetation projects throughout the Johnson Creek watershed have been conducted totaling more than 106 acres and more than 38,800 ft of stream bank. During 2003, a total of 13 additional projects are expected to be completed. Typical projects have five years of maintenance, twice per year, and have about 1,500 trees and shrubs planted per acre. The goal is to have 50% of the plantings to be thriving at year 5.
The Johnson Creek Restoration Plan completed in 2001 by Portland BES was a call to action for watershed partners to cooperate in identifying solutions and implementing projects that achieve multiple watershed restoration objectives. Restoration actions included reducing nuisance flooding, improving water quality, and restoring or enhancing fish and wildlife habitat. The 2001 Restoration Plan updated the concepts in the 1995 Johnson Creek Resources Management Plan while adding design objectives, project ideas, and management strategies (Portland BES, 2001). The 2001 Restoration Plan goal was to rehabilitate the watershed’s natural functions to resolve flooding problems, rather than relying on flood control structures to alleviate the problem. To achieve this goal, the plan recommends restoration components that are compatible with natural watershed functions, such as the restoration of floodplains, riparian buffers, wetlands, and in-stream habitat complexity.
Eight early action projects were identified including: 1) Lower Johnson Creek Restoration (Milwaukie); 2) Tideman Johnson Nature Park (Portland); 3) Bell Station Flood Mitigation (Clackamas County); 4) West Lents Flood Mitigation (Portland); 5) Lents Alternatives (Portland); 6) Alsop Floodplain Restoration (Portland); 7) Gresham Stream Corridors (Gresham); and 8) Upper Reaches Riparian Improvements (Clackamas and Multnomah Counties).
Opportunities identified by reach include the following: 1) reconnection and restoration of the floodplain; 2) stabilize stream banks; 3) protect tributaries and their confluence’s; 4) mitigate outfalls and remove barriers; 5) create or enhance wildlife corridors; 6) protect and restore riparian vegetation; 7) increase in-stream complexity; 8) reduce adverse effects of impervious surfaces; 9) improve water quality; 10) add large woody debris; and 11) provide educational opportunities and encourage stewardship.
The Johnson Creek Restoration Plan Willing Seller Program is an implementation strategy of the Restoration Plan. This program has been actively purchasing properties in the watershed since 1997. To date more than 115 acres have been acquired and over 50 households have been assisted in moving out of harm’s way of flooding. The program was expanded to include all jurisdictions in the watershed and other potential partners who will make acquisition feasible given the current economic and funding situation. A total of 15 target areas have been determined and prioritized based on targets set in the Restoration Plan. Once target areas have been identified and contact is made with a potential willing seller, individual properties are evaluated and ranked based on several criteria. For more detailed information of the City of Portland’s acquisition process see the Johnson Creek Land Acquisition Partnership and Implementation Strategy (Portland BES, 2001).
Portland BES has been working with the Lents community and other City bureaus since 2000 to develop flood management alternatives as part of the Portland Development Commission Lents 2040 Urban Renewal Project. The objective is to store floodwaters generated by up to 10-year flood events (or “nuisance” floods) in ways that will improve the environment while also expand options for community redevelopment. Only one of the four alternatives studied ranked as feasible when analyzed against the following seven design considerations: 1) ability to store the nuisance flood; 2) difficulty of construction; 3) long term stability of channel or floodplain modifications; 4) ease of long-term operations and maintenance; 5) use of existing public lands; 6) downstream impacts; and 7) environmental impacts and ability to obtain permits. The approach would manage nuisance floodwaters south of SE Foster Road between SE 112th and Interstate 205. Construction would include creating a wider, two-stage channel within Johnson Creek. The design would also include off-channel storage areas within the floodplain and flood relief channels to route high flows to storage locations or to create alternative downstream flowpaths (Lents Technical Memorandum, Portland BES, 2002).
Lower Willamette Agricultural Water Quality Management AreaA local advisory committee for the Lower Willamette Agricultural Water Quality Management Area that includes Johnson Creek is currently developing the Agricultural Water Quality Plan and Rules. The plan and rules commonly referred to as Senate Bill (SB) 1010 address a wide range of conditions such as erosion, siltation, animal waste, and riparian area management. The SB 1010 directs the Oregon Department of Agriculture to work with farmers to develop overall water quality management plans for watersheds listed on the Federal Clean Water Act section 303(d) and associated list of water quality parameters not meeting water quality standards. The Lower Willamette Agricultural Water Quality Management Area Local Advisory Committee is made up of resource agencies, nursery and farm owners, and environmental organizations
The plan will describe the management area, water quality concerns, mission, goals, strategies to achieve the goals and objectives, and strategies for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the plan. The rules will become OAR's (Oregon Administrative Rules) and will be enforced by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The committee will be drafting four rules that will cover waste (manure, sediment, etc.), nutrients, erosion, and riparian areas. The goal is to have a draft of both the Plan and Rules sometime during the summer of 2003. The State Board of Agriculture will approve the Plan and Rules. Both the Plan and Rules will be reviewed by the committee every two years and will be updated to address any new 303(d) listings or TMDL’s in the management area.
