Lower Rogue Watershed Council and the Curry Soil and Water Conservation District

“Bandon Dunes is very focused on restoration, so they’re usually one of the first ones at the table. That’s a really great catalyst for many of my projects, because they definitely have name recognition with other funders. But they’re also really great at understanding who to connect. Even if they can’t provide funding, they always follow up with other contacts: ‘Oh, you guys should check in with these people, or think about this funding.’ It’s like a miniature restoration dating service!”

—Kelly Timchak, Curry Soil and Water Conservation District/Lower Rogue Watershed Counci

With funding and other support from BDCF, the Lower Rogue Watershed Council and the Curry Soil and Water Conservation District is nearing completion of its restoration design plan for critical rearing sites in the Rogue River estuary, which will expand and improve available habitat for coho and other native juvenile salmonids along with resident and migratory species like beavers and waterfowl. Restoration work is expected to begin in 2026 and will focus on increasing floodplain connectivity, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and stream complexity.

“Everything seems to be moving along really smoothly!” says Project Manager Kelly Timchak. “We're currently getting some permits underway, and we’ve already finished the cultural resources survey.” The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, which served on the Technical Team to assist with project development, is also working with the Forest Service to facilitate a tree donation. “It's about 125 trees that the Tribal Council supported for removal, and then we work with the Forest Service for final approval,” Kelly says.

Freeman Rock, Inc. — owners of the area and long-time partners in the restoration effort — have already begun excavating gravel from the site, which means that some of the necessary preparation work is getting done ahead of time. “It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Kelly says. “Freeman Rock needs gravel and we need habitat, so we're working together to hit both of our goals. It’s a great thing to be able to highlight, because industry folks may not know that this kind of win-win partnership is an option.”

Further emphasizing that environmental restoration, community health, and economic development need not be at odds, the Lower Rogue Watershed Council is looking at recruiting unemployed or underemployed people in the timber industry. “We need people with certain skill sets, so we are trying to figure out how to plug them into a restoration economy — like this habitat enhancement project — and keep it fruitful for them, too,” Kelly notes.

For Kelly, the best part of the project is the opportunity to expand — rather than simply restore — this invaluable habitat. “Usually, we're only able to enhance the quality of our estuaries,” she explains. “That we’re actually increasing the quantity is still mind-blowing to me! And we will likely gain another 10 to 14 acres in future phases, too, because Freeman Rock came back and said, ‘You can actually use about 25 acres in this

area.’ So over the next 10 years, we're looking to add extra channels to the newly created sloughs and capture a few more estuary acres — all on the same property!”

Kelly expects the major work — including revegetation — to get underway next year. “That's when we're going to be putting in new channels, tidal benches, smaller tributaries, and large wood placements, and then connecting to the main God Wants You Slough,” she says. As an added benefit, this work will aid in climate mitigation: “Scientists have found that estuaries have a lot of carbon storage in their sediments and organic matter, so we’re adding to carbon storage through estuary expansion as well as providing a release for flooding with future climate events.”

Kelly is grateful both for BDCF’s early support of the program as well as its ability to attract additional funders. “Early money is the best,” she observes. “It gives you time to not feel so pressured about finding grant funds, because often these projects are so big that you will use several different resources with different timelines and reporting requirements. They are big, complex projects.”

“The most exciting thing is learning that we’ll have more acreage to work with in the future,” Kelly concludes. “We can expand the footprint over the next five to 10 years, and as we continue to learn from this project, we can integrate that new information into the next project.”