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A habitat restoration project at the confluence of Johnson Creek and the Willamette River has stabilized critical spawning and rearing grounds for salmon, steelhead and lamprey in the heart of a heavily used urban park.
Completed in October 2025, the Johnson Creek Confluence & Milwaukie Bay Habitat Enhancement project transformed nearly 96,000 square feet of riverbed at Milwaukie Bay Park, located at 11211 S.E. McLoughlin Blvd. The project, owned by the Johnson Creek Watershed Council, was constructed by Biohabitats working from a design by Wolf Water Resources, a Women鈥檚 Business Enterprise-certified engineering firm that had an engineer on-site during active construction.
Biohabitats installed two large deflector log jams, eight scour and racking log structures, and eight nearshore habitat cover log structures. Workers also excavated 1,100 cubic yards of cobble from the confluence riverbed and revegetated the site with 2,700 native trees and shrubs and more than 100 pounds of native seed.
A vibratory pile driver specifically engineered for log pile installation drove 32 piles 15 to 20 feet below existing grade. Horizontal logs were then attached to the piles and ballasted with large boulders and layered cobble fill to form the complex engineered log jam structures.
The site presented unusual logistical challenges. Positioned within the tidal prism of the lower Willamette River, the project area flooded twice daily during high tides. Biohabitats responded by diverting Johnson Creek flows around the work area using a coffer dam and an excavated channel, scheduling construction during daylight low-tide windows and enclosing the isolated area with floating turbidity curtains. Fish and wildlife were salvaged from the area after every high tide.
The discovery of lamprey ammocoetes within the alluvial fan required a deliberate, methodical dewatering approach coordinated with the Johnson Creek Watershed Council and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Daily tailgate safety meetings briefed workers on equipment movement, water hazards and uneven terrain. Two-way radios were used across the site. Delivery of large wood materials down a narrow residential street beneath low-hanging overhead power and communications cables required careful coordination by equipment operators.
鈥淭he Johnson Creek Confluence Project provides benefits to multiple populations of salmon and steelhead from throughout the Willamette Basin by creating critical cool water refuge that fish can use to escape high water temperatures in the Willamette River,鈥� explained Todd Alsbury, fish biologist and construction project team leader at Biohabitats, in the Top Projects nomination form.