Sturgeon Lake

This winter Sturgeon Lake Restoration Planning Group learned some very good news!  The US Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE) has decided to fund up to 75% of the cost of the feasibility study for Sturgeon Lake.  The study will be used to investigate alternatives for restoring water flow and reducing sedimentation in the lake.  Sedimentation threatens to reduce and possibly eliminate the 3,000 acres of open water used by salmon and steel head as off-channel "rearing" habitat and slow water refugia.  Recent studies show that these habitats play a vital role in the survival of young fish, providing "pit stops"  to grow and mature before heading out to the ocean as well as resting places during high water flows.

Funds already secured from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Ducks Unlimited, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will be coupled with West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District funds to match the US ACE allocation. US ACE will present its strategy for the study at a public meeting on May 10^th at 2:00 pm at the Sauvie Island Grange (14443 Northwest Charlton Road Portland, OR 97231). The study will start this summer with the actual restoration to begin sometime in 2012 or 2013.