FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RESTORING "FREEWAYS FOR FISH" IN WILLIAMS CREEK

MEDIA TOUR - PRESS ADVISORY

The Williams Creek Watershed and the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy will be conducting a media tour to talk about ongoing efforts to remove fish passage barriers in the Williams Creek Watershed.

LOGISTICS

• Date: September 11 – 10:00 AM – 11:30 PM
• Location: meet at the Williams Creek Watershed Council office – 235 East Fork Road in Williams, OR (directions provided below).  From there, we can caravan to the site of the Williams Creek fish passage improvement project.
• From Medford:  Follow OR-238 through Jacksonville and Ruch to Provolt.  Turn left on Water Gap Road for 4.7 miles.  Turn Right on Williams Highway for 1.5 miles.  Bear Left on East Fork Road for 0.1 mile.  Watershed Council office is in Fire Station, blue building on left.
• From Grants Pass:  Follow OR-238 out of Grants Pass towards Williams.  Bear right at Water Gap Road for 4.7 miles.  Turn Right on Williams Highway for 1.5 miles.     Bear Left on East Fork Road for 0.1 mile.  Watershed Council office is in Fire Station, blue building on left.

Background

Williams Creek Watershed Council and the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy have joined efforts to improve the ability for salmon, steelhead, and other fishes to move past the site of a gravel push-up dam.  The “fish friendly” water diversion structure replacement is currently under construction and will be completed by September 15.

Completing this project will help adult steelhead and coho salmon to reach seven miles of habitat in the West Fork of Williams Creek.  Earlier this year, Williams Creek Watershed Council and the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy teamed to remove another fish passage barrier in the East Fork of Williams Creek, providing cutthroat trout and steelhead access to two miles of previously unreachable habitat.

These two projects are part of a larger effort by the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy to improve migratory fish access to 1,200 miles of habitat in the Rogue River system.  Over the past five years, the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy has partnered with landowners, watershed councils, agencies, and conservationists through its “Restoring Freeways for Fish” campaign to remove 15 fish passage barriers in the Illinois River, Williams Creek, Little Butte Creek, Little Applegate, and Bear Creek, re-opening access to 315 miles of historic spawning habitat.

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