The 2019 Riparian Restoration team monitored and repaired multiple sites along the banks of Goose Creek, a a spring-fed tributary of the McKenzie River, which stretches 90 miles through the Willamette Forest and is itself an important tributary of the Columbia River. The entirety of Goose Creek is located on an organic blueberry and timber farm called Whitewater Ranch, owned by Jim and Jane Russell. The elevation of the site is 715 feet above sea level and temperatures range from a low of 20 degrees fahrenheit in the winter to a high of 90 degrees in the summer. At it’s deepest point, Goose Creek can reach five feet deep, but varies greatly with seasonal rainfall. Due to the history of the site as a cattle and dairy ranch under prior ownership until about 30 years ago, much of the native vegetation has been eliminated and replaced with Reed Canary Grass, Himalayan Blackberry, and other invasive species.
