Home
EDUCATION
-Brochure
-Presentation at Springfield Schools
-Educational Posters
-Interpretive Site Posters
OUTREACH
-Organizing Friends of the Mill
Race
-Volunteer
Clean-up Day
UPCOMING
CHANGES |
CREATING NEW INLET
A
new inlet will be constructed 200 feet upstream of the boat ramp at Clearwater
Park and will
flow through part of an old channel of the Middle Fork of the Willamette.
The new inlet will enhance water flow through the Mill Race and improve
habitats for fish and wildlife.
Map of the draft Mill Race Plan
showing potential access points as red circles.
Photos show the Mill Pond and the inlet during high flow conditions.
REMOVAL OF MILL POND DAM
The Mill Pond will be drained as much as possible
through the dam outlet and then a diversion
structure will be placed just upstream of the Mill Pond area to divert
the Mill Race flow through a pipe around the Mill Pond.
The pond area will then be graded to construct a meandering channel with
connecting seasonal ponds. Excavated soil will be placed along the banks
to provide a gentle slope for riparian and wetland plantings. Approximately
20 acres of wetlands will be created in the Mill Pond area.
The removal of the dam will provide better water flow along the course
of the Mill Race and allow safe use of this aquatic habitat by many types of fish, including Spring
Chinook salmon.
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REMOVING INVASIVE PLANTS Non-native plants such as blackberries and reed canary grass have choked out many of the native plants along the Mill Race. Removing these invasive plants and allowing regrowth of native plants will encourage repopulation of native wildlife. |
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RESTORING RIPARIAN AND WETLAND HABITAT After removing invasive species, native plants will be cultivated along the Mill Race banks and new wetlands will be established at the former Mill Pond site.
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