Crystal Springs

Crystal Springs Creek Restoration, Reed College, Portland, Oregon.
Developed the Reed College Canyon Enhancement Strategy – a strategy for the conrol
of non-native plant species and native plant revegetation for the forested wetland zones,
riparian edge zones, marsh zones, open water/aquatic zones and headwater riparian forest
zones. Managed the project and oversaw permit writing, monitoring, revegetating the
new fishway and fish ladder, grant writing and restoration/enhancement of the native
plant communities. The first phase of the Reed Canyon enhancement of Crystal Springs
Creek included the oversight of the installation of the fish ladder and fishway and
waterfall and planting.

The second phase of Crystal Springs Creek headwaters fish passage project was installed
in September 2011. The project included the replacement of the existing culvert with
a natural bottom box culvert, the re-meandering of the existing channelized creek with
pools, riffles, large wood, and habitat for adult and juvenile salmonids and Coho salmon.
The site will be planted with five native plant communities, including Oak savanna and
Sedge meadows.

From mouth to headwaters, Crystal Springs Creek measures 2.7 miles. It is fed only
by springs, leaving the water free of the urban runoff that taints so many of the city’s
streams. The clean water, along with a constant year-round flow, low temperatures
and little changes in gradient make this a potential sanctuary for the area’s threatened
salmon. The Lower Columbia chinook, the coho and the steelhead—all listed under the
Endangered Species Act—have been documented in Crystal Springs Creek. There’s even
the possibility that the Columbia River chum, which has died off in the Portland area,