Sturgeon Lake is slowly filling with sediment and work is needed to restore the natural outflow
WMSWCD Needs Your Help to Save Sturgeon Lake
By Carolyn Lindberg, WMSWCD
West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) is very lucky to be joining with Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation on a fundraising campaign to benefit Sturgeon Lake on Sauvie Island. Oregon Wildlife has taken the lead in the effort by producing a video and a glossy publication explaining the need for the massive restoration project, and has already secured some valuable private donations. But the effort continues and we could use your help to save this important water body. You can see the video and learn more about the project by visiting www.oregon-wildlife.org and clicking on Save Sturgeon Lake.
Did you know that Sauvie Island is the largest island in the Columbia River and one of the largest river islands in North America? It’s roughly the size of Manhattan! And Sturgeon Lake is the largest lake on a river island in the United States. The lake is critical habitat and a link in the Pacific Flyway for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds and water fowl.
But Sturgeon Lake is at risk. It’s filling with sediment which isn’t being flushed out by the Gilbert River. The only southern outlet to tidal influence is Dairy Creek, which is plugged with sand and debris from the 1996 flood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has committed to funding the $6.7 million project, if WMSWCD comes up with the $1.7 million match. Hence the fundraising campaign.
The plan is to replace two failing culverts in Dairy Creek at Reeder Road, remove the sand and debris at the mouth of Dairy Creek, widen and improve the Dairy Creek channel and install a debris “boom” at the creek’s mouth in the Columbia River.
Please help us Save Sturgeon Lake for the wildlife and hundreds of thousands of local residents who visit and enjoy the area every year. Please visit http://savesturgeonlake.com/ to make a donation.
By Carolyn Lindberg, WMSWCD
West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) is very lucky to be joining with Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation on a fundraising campaign to benefit Sturgeon Lake on Sauvie Island. Oregon Wildlife has taken the lead in the effort by producing a video and a glossy publication explaining the need for the massive restoration project, and has already secured some valuable private donations. But the effort continues and we could use your help to save this important water body. You can see the video and learn more about the project by visiting www.oregon-wildlife.org and clicking on Save Sturgeon Lake.
Did you know that Sauvie Island is the largest island in the Columbia River and one of the largest river islands in North America? It’s roughly the size of Manhattan! And Sturgeon Lake is the largest lake on a river island in the United States. The lake is critical habitat and a link in the Pacific Flyway for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds and water fowl.
But Sturgeon Lake is at risk. It’s filling with sediment which isn’t being flushed out by the Gilbert River. The only southern outlet to tidal influence is Dairy Creek, which is plugged with sand and debris from the 1996 flood. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has committed to funding the $6.7 million project, if WMSWCD comes up with the $1.7 million match. Hence the fundraising campaign.
The plan is to replace two failing culverts in Dairy Creek at Reeder Road, remove the sand and debris at the mouth of Dairy Creek, widen and improve the Dairy Creek channel and install a debris “boom” at the creek’s mouth in the Columbia River.
Please help us Save Sturgeon Lake for the wildlife and hundreds of thousands of local residents who visit and enjoy the area every year. Please visit http://savesturgeonlake.com/ to make a donation.