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Habitat Restoration and Monitoring in Urban Streams: The Case of Tryon Creek in Portland, OR

Abstract:

Habitat enhancement in urban streams can be important for threatened species but challenging, because of altered catchment hydrology and urban encroachment on floodplains and channel banks. In Portland (OR) restoration actions have been undertaken at the watershed scale (eg: storm water management, protection of sites with high watershed value) to improve water quality, and at reach scale, when water quality and quantity are adequate, to increase habitat heterogeneity and stabilize banks. To evaluate reach-scale restoration projects in the Tryon Creek watershed, we sampled benthic macroinvertebrates and conducted habitat quality surveys pre-project and over 4 years post-project. Species sensitive to pollution and diversity of trophic groups increased after restoration. Although taxonomical diversity increased after restoration, but was still low compared to reference streams. We found no significant …