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107-606: Blazed Alder Creek is a tributary, about 4 miles (6 km) long, of the Bull Run River in the U.S. state of Oregon . Part of the system that provides drinking water to the city of Portland , it flows generally north through a protected part of the Mount Hood National Forest in Clackamas and Multnomah counties. The creek is named after a 24-inch (61 cm) blazed (marked) alder tree that

214-402: A spillway 11 miles (18 km) from the river mouth. Forest Road 10 runs roughly parallel to the right bank of the river from near the headwaters to Southwest Bull Run Road, near the mouth. Entering Bull Run River Reservoir 2, the river receives Camp Creek from the left, re-enters Clackamas County, and receives South Fork Bull Run River from the left. The river exits the reservoir via

321-467: A diet of small mammals (74.7%), other birds (8.3%), amphibians (6.4%), bugs (5.6%), crayfish (3.0%), fish (1.5%), reptiles, snails and slugs, and earthworms (<1.0% each). This diet is similar to the northern spotted owl, and the addition of barred owls to the northern spotted owl’s range creates increased competition for food. In the same areas, northern spotted owls require around three to four times more range than barred owls, which places more strain on

428-586: A five-month survey trip led him to conclude that a gravity-flow system could deliver clean water from Bull Run to Portland. In 1892, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signed a proclamation creating a protected area, the Bull Run Reserve, in the watershed. By 1895 Portland had built a diversion dam on the Bull Run River, and completed its first conduit (Conduit 1) to carry Bull Run water to

535-417: A large pipe to the city in 1895. Erosion-resistant basalt underlies much of the watershed, and streams passing over it are relatively free of sediments. However, turbidity increases when unstable soils sandwiched between layers of basalt and other volcanic rocks are disturbed and wash into the river during rainstorms. Despite legal protections, about 22 percent of the protected zone was logged during

642-695: A largely unbroken expanse of centuries-old trees," according to a member of the Bull Run Advisory Committee, a scientific panel commissioned by the City of Portland in 1977 to review issues related to Bull Run. In 1973, Joseph Miller, Jr., a retired Portland physician, sued the Forest Service, claiming that its logging violated the Bull Run Trespass Act. In 1976, U.S. District Judge James M. Burns agreed, and logging

749-597: A loop south of the river. The loop extends as far east as Goodfellow Lakes, near the source of the Little Sandy River. Below the BRWMU, Bull Run Road, open to the public, crosses the river between the community of Bull Run and Dodge Park. The Bull Run River Bridge, a 240-foot (73 m) Pennsylvania-petit truss span that carries Bull Run Road, was originally the west truss of the Burnside Bridge over

856-537: A mix of old and younger forest types in the southern part of its range ( Klamath region and California ). The subspecies' range is the Pacific coast from extreme southern British Columbia to Marin County in northern California. The species's preference for the old growth forests, which were the same ones that environmentalists fought to save during the "timber wars" beginning in the 1980s, led it to become an icon of

963-516: A rockfill structure about 110 feet (34 m) high, impounds Reservoir 2. Although the two reservoirs combined can hold up to about 17 billion US gallons (64,000,000 m ), their total usable storage is only about 10 billion US gallons (38,000,000 m ). The raw water intake (headworks) at Bull Run is just below Dam 2. This is where water is diverted from the river for chlorination and then routed into three distribution conduits for delivery to Portland. About 23 percent of

1070-444: A series of lava flows topped by debris from a glacial moraine . Small streams flow into the lake from ridges above it, and water exits the lake mainly by seeping through porous rock to enter the Bull Run River about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) downstream. Evidence suggests that over the past several thousand years, although forest fires in the area and volcanic activity on Mount Hood or Mount St. Helens have caused temporary changes in

1177-465: A series of rapid wingbeats interspersed with gliding flight . This technique allows them to glide silently down upon their prey. Regarding human contact, the northern spotted owl's behavior has been remarked as "remarkably demeanor". Northern spotted owls reach sexual maturity at two years of age, but do not typically breed until three years of age. Males and females mate in February or March, with

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1284-536: A spillway at about RM 6 (RK 10). Below Reservoir 2, Forest Road 10 (Waterworks Road) is on the river's right bank, and Forest Road 14 is on the left. The river flows by a stream gauge at RM 4.7 (RK 7.6) and passes under Forest Road 14 before receiving the Little Sandy River from the left at about RM 2 (RK 3). The river then turns northwest, passes under an unnamed road and then under Southeast Bull Run Road near

1391-457: A timber-and-rockfill structure and later by other measures to increase the lake's storage capacity and to prevent seepage. These measures raised the lake's usable storage from about 2.8 billion US gallons (11,000,000 m ) to about 4.3 billion US gallons (16,000,000 m ), an increase of about 55 percent. Dam 1, which impounds Reservoir 1, is a concrete arch-gravity dam about 200 feet (61 m) high, and Dam 2,

1498-544: A wooden flume about 3.2 miles (5.1 km) long to a 140-acre (0.57 km ) reservoir called Roslyn Lake and from there to the powerhouse. To begin the project, the MHR&;P needed access to the powerhouse site. At the time, it took three hours by stagecoach to reach Bull Run from an electric railway depot in Boring . Roads in the area had to be planked to be usable during heavy rains. Access improved in mid-1911, when

1605-544: Is a sub-watershed of the Lower Columbia–Sandy Watershed. Elevations within the watershed range from 4,750 feet (1,450 m) at Buck Peak on the watershed's northeastern boundary to 243 feet (74 m) at the mouth of the Bull Run River. As the main source of Portland's drinking water, the watershed is largely restricted to uses related to water collection, storage, and treatment, and to forest management. The city's drinking water protection area consists of

1712-418: Is about 200 feet (61 m) high. To keep pace with population growth and increasing water demands, the city created Reservoir 2 behind Dam 2. The new dam, completed in 1962 at the site of the headworks dam, is a rockfill structure, 110 feet (34 m) high. By that time, the city had already replaced the aging Conduit 1 with Conduit 4. The lower Bull Run River changed dramatically in 1906, when

1819-410: Is approximately 42 inches. They are a mainly nocturnal species, and form long-term pair bonds. While most owls have yellow to red-orange colored eyes, northern spotted owls are one of the few owls with darkish to black-colored eyes. Thirteen different sounds of hoots, whistles, and barks have been identified to be sounds of the northern spotted owl, with females having higher-pitched calls than males. Of

1926-464: Is estimated to have decreased at an annual rate of 3.8% from 1985 to 2013. This population loss is directly related to the presence of barred owls. The Diller et al. (2016) study demonstrated that lethal removal of barred owls resulted in the northern spotted owl populations to increase, while populations of northern spotted owls continued to decrease if barred owl populations were left alone. Should northern owl habitat areas continue to be protected under

2033-597: Is in the Mount Hood National Forest in Multnomah and Clackamas counties in northwest Oregon. The confluence of the Bull Run and Sandy rivers at Dodge Park, about 20 miles (32 km) east of downtown Portland , marks the watershed's western (downstream) end, while on the east it borders Hood River County , and at Hiyo Mountain it is about 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Mount Hood in the Cascade Range. It

2140-646: Is rare at elevations up to 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level but sometimes reaches 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3.0 m) above 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Melting snow adds to streamflow in April and May, and dry soil inhibits streamflow in August. Generally, temperatures are mild. Lows in January range from just below freezing to about 25 °F (−4 °C), while July highs are usually about 80 °F (27 °C). The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of

2247-578: Is restricted to uses related to water collection, storage, treatment, and forest management. The Portland Water Bureau and the United States Forest Service manage the watershed. Bull Run River (Oregon) It is likely that Native Americans living along the Columbia River as early as 10,000 years ago visited the Bull Run watershed in search of food. Within the past few thousand years they created trails over

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2354-462: Is the climax species . Mature trees, which cover about 54 percent of the watershed, are mostly more than 500 years old and have diameters exceeding 21 inches (53 cm). Trees between 9 and 21 inches (23 and 53 cm) in diameter cover about 34 percent of the basin, while younger, smaller trees dominate the remaining 12 percent. The forest floors support many smaller plants such as salal and sword fern . About 5 percent of

2461-534: The Columbia Gorge . The climate along the Bull Run River is typical of the western Oregon Cascades foothills. Annual precipitation ranges from 80 inches (2,000 mm) near the intake for the Portland water supply to as much as 170 inches (4,300 mm) near the headwaters. Summers are dry, and winters, especially November through January, are wet. At low elevations, most of the precipitation arrives in

2568-700: The Mount Hood Railway and Power Company (MHR&P) began work on the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project. The project included a powerhouse on the Bull Run River at RM 1.5 (RK 2.4), and a diversion dam on one of its largest tributaries, the Little Sandy River, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) from its confluence with the Bull Run River. Water from the Little Sandy Dam diverted much of the Little Sandy's flow through

2675-692: The Mount Hood Wilderness . Originating in Clackamas County north of Forest Road 18 ( Lolo Pass Road), its unnamed headwater tributaries enter the lake. Flowing northwest from the lake, the river immediately enters Multnomah County and continues generally northwest for about 5 miles (8 km). Along this stretch, the river flows by a United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream gauge at river mile (RM) 20.9 or river kilometer (RK) 30.6, passes under Forest Road 1025 and Forest Road 10 and receives Blazed Alder Creek from

2782-929: The Northwest Forest Plan and other related legislation, solutions to regulate barred owl populations could reverse the population decline of the northern spotted owl. Without intervention, continued annual decrease in population levels would ultimately end in extinction of the northern spotted owl. Northern spotted owls and barred owls have been shown to be capable of producing hybrid offspring. Previous geographical isolation had prevented prior hybridization, and current ones are difficult to distinguish from nonhybrids without using genetic testing techniques. However, of those differences that are discernable, hybrids tend to be larger and lighter colored than northern spotted owls, with similar facial features to barred owls. All hybridization occurred between male northern spotted owls and female barred owls. Cross-breeding amongst

2889-568: The United States Department of Agriculture operates snow telemetry ( SNOTEL ) stations at three places in the Bull Run watershed to help predict how much water will be available from melting snow. Snow depths and density vary with time and location. At the Blazed Alder Creek station, the highest of the three at 3,650 feet (1,110 m) above sea level, the mean snow-water equivalent (SWE) (the amount of water in

2996-525: The Willamette River in downtown Portland. It includes parts made of wrought iron as well as steel, and its truss portals incorporate nautical design elements meant for Portland, an inland seaport. Built in 1894, the bridge was moved to Bull Run in 1926, when a new Burnside Bridge replaced the old one. The Sandy River Bridge over the Sandy River at Dodge Park, just upriver from the mouth of

3103-477: The basalt , and later volcanic flows of basalt and andesite overlie both older formations. Areas of thick talus occur in the eastern part of the watershed at elevations higher than 2,500 feet (760 m) above sea level, and north-facing slopes above 2,600 feet (790 m) show evidence of glaciation . Over many centuries, streams in the watershed have carved canyons through the Rhododendron formation to

3210-410: The left and Log Creek and Falls Creek, both from the right . Then the river turns southwest and passes another stream gauge just before entering Bull Run River Reservoir 1 at RM 15 (RK 24). Also entering the reservoir are Fir Creek from the left, North Fork Bull Run River from the right, then Deer, Cougar, and Bear creeks, all from the right. The Bull Run River exits the reservoir via

3317-513: The unincorporated community of Bull Run , which is on the river's right, and the defunct powerhouse of the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project , which is on the left. Southeast Camp Namanu Road runs roughly parallel to the river along its right bank from here to the mouth. Along this stretch, the river receives Laughing Water Creek from the right and enters the Sandy River at Dodge Park, about 18.5 miles (29.8 km) from

Blazed Alder Creek - Misplaced Pages Continue

3424-413: The 102 square miles (260 km ) of the basin upstream of the water supply intake at RM 6.2 (RK 10). The protection area is part of a larger restricted zone, the BRWMU, which covers 143 square miles (370 km ). It lies mostly within Multnomah and Clackamas counties but extends in places along its eastern edge into Hood River County. As of 2010 , the Forest Service manages 95 percent of

3531-451: The 20th century. Since 1966, the USGS has monitored the flow of the Bull Run River at a stream gauge 14.8 miles (23.8 km) from the mouth. The average flow between then and 2008 was 404 cubic feet per second (11.4 m /s). This is from a drainage area of 47.90 square miles (124.06 km ), about 34 percent of the entire watershed. The maximum flow recorded during this period

3638-545: The BRWMU on land owned by the federal government; the Portland Water Bureau manages the 4 percent that is owned by the City of Portland, and the Bureau of Land Management manages the remaining 1 percent, which is on federal land. Small portions of the watershed that are along the lower main stem or along tributaries are partly outside the BRWMU and fall under other jurisdictions. Watersheds bordering

3745-506: The BRWMU was made into a reserve for protecting the northern spotted owl and other species dependent on old-growth forests . In February 1996, runoff from unusually heavy rains in the watershed washed so much eroded soil into the Bull Run storage reservoirs that the city had to shut down the Bull Run supply and switch during the crisis to its emergency supply from a well field along the Columbia River. Later in 1996, Congress passed

3852-571: The BRWMU, about 14,500 acres (59 km ), roughly 22 percent of the water supply drainage, were logged. Since then, to reduce erosion from the outmoded logging infrastructure, the Forest Service and the water bureau have been decommissioning parts of the Bull Run forest road network, which had grown to 346 miles (557 km). By autumn 2008, they had closed 78 miles (126 km) of roads, were dismantling another 63 miles (101 km), and were removing 245 culverts. The Bull Run watershed drains 139 square miles (360 km ), most of which

3959-575: The Bull Run River drainage basin are those of the West Fork Hood River to the east and northeast, the Sandy River to the south and west, and the Columbia River to the north. Small Columbia River tributaries, each with a subwatershed bordering the Bull Run watershed, flow north from a ridge between the Bull Run and Columbia rivers. These include Eagle , Tanner , Moffett, McCord, Horsetail , Oneonta , Multnomah , and Bridle Veil creeks, which plunge over one or more waterfalls as they enter

4066-500: The Bull Run River, was the 300-foot (91 m) east truss of the Burnside Bridge. Thick forests cover about 95 percent of the watershed. Douglas-fir is the dominant tree species in the basin below 3,400 feet (1,000 m) above sea level, where western redcedar thrives in moist areas and western hemlock also grows. Douglas-fir and noble fir are the dominant species at higher elevations, and Pacific silver fir

4173-475: The Cascade Range and around Mount Hood , near the upper part of the Bull Run watershed. By the mid-19th century, pioneers used these trails to cross the mountains from east to west to reach the fertile Willamette Valley . In the 1890s, the City of Portland, searching for sources of clean drinking water, chose the Bull Run River. Dam-building, road construction, and legal action to protect the watershed began shortly thereafter, and Bull Run water began to flow through

4280-592: The Cascades, and in the Klamath province. Another proposal, on control of barred owl populations through culling, has been criticized by some animal rights and other activists. Federal biologists were considering in 2010 whether removal of competing barred owls would allow expansion of spotted owl populations. In early 2021, the Trump administration removed more than 3 million acres of Pacific Northwest land from

4387-563: The Columbia east of the mouth of the Sandy River, eventually became an important trading center. The Indians established villages on floodplains and traveled seasonally to gather huckleberries and other food on upland meadows, to fish for salmon, and to hunt elk and deer. Although no direct evidence exists that these lower-Columbia Indians traveled up the Sandy, it is likely that they did. Traces of these people include petroglyphs carved into

Blazed Alder Creek - Misplaced Pages Continue

4494-526: The Little Sandy Dam in 2008, restoring natural flows to the Sandy and Little Sandy. In 1982, work on the Portland Hydroelectric Project, unrelated to the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project, began generating electricity at powerhouses below the dams at Reservoirs 1 and 2 on the Bull Run River. Portland sells the electricity from a 24-megawatt plant at Dam 1 and a 12-megawatt plant at Dam 2 to PGE, which operates and maintains

4601-617: The Lolo Pass trail roughly where the Zigzag and Salmon rivers enter the Sandy. Indians from villages along the Columbia, Clackamas , and other rivers also traveled by water to the lower Sandy River area to fish for salmon and to gather berries, nuts and roots. The Klickitat tribe referred to Bull Run Lake as Gohabedikt , meaning "Loon Lake". Before the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1805, few Europeans or European-Americans had visited

4708-550: The National Forest Management Act, has led to significant changes in forest practices in the northwest. President Clinton's controversial Northwest Forest Plan of 1994 was designed primarily to protect owls and other species dependent on old-growth forests while ensuring a certain amount of timber harvest. Although the result was much less logging, industry automation and the new law meant the loss of thousands of jobs. The debate has cooled somewhat over

4815-745: The Northern Spotted Owl under the Endangered Species Act significantly reduced timber employment in the Pacific Northwest. The controversy pitted individual loggers and small sawmill owners against environmentalists. Bumper stickers reading Kill a Spotted Owl—Save a Logger and I Like Spotted Owls—Fried appeared to support the loggers. Plastic spotted owls were hung in effigy in Oregon sawmills. The logging industry, in response to continued bad publicity, started

4922-570: The Oregon Resources Conservation Act, which prohibited logging on all Forest Service lands within the Bull Run water supply drainage and another 3,500 acres (14 km ) of land that drained to the lower Bull Run River. In 2001, the Little Sandy Act extended the prohibitions to the entire BRWMU and public lands along the Little Sandy River. Between 1958 and 1993, when the last timber-cutting took place in

5029-635: The Sandy River basin. One of the first documented visits to the upper Sandy occurred in 1838, when Daniel Lee drove cattle from the Willamette Valley to Wascopam via the Indian trail over Lolo Pass. By 1840, pioneers were using the trail to cross the Cascades, and the Barlow Road, following another old trail, opened in 1846. One of its branches ran along the Devil's Backbone, a ridge separating

5136-486: The Sandy and Little Sandy basins. A few of these newcomers settled along the Sandy River. In 1886, the Portland Water Committee, predecessor of the Portland Water Bureau, began a search for a superior drinking water source. The committee, led by Henry Failing , commissioned Isaac W. Smith , an engineer and surveyor, to inspect any viable water supply in the region. Smith chose the Bull Run River, and

5243-505: The Sustainable Forestry Initiative. While timber interests and conservatives have cited the northern spotted owl as an example of excessive or misguided environmental protection, many environmentalists view the owl as an " indicator species ," or "canary in a coal mine" whose preservation has created protection for an entire threatened ecosystem. Protection of the owl, under both the Endangered Species Act and

5350-446: The USGS has monitored the flow of Blazed Alder Creek at a stream gauge 3.68 miles (5.92 km) from the mouth and only 600 feet (180 m) from the source. The average flow between then and 2009 was 57.5 cubic feet per second (1.63 m/s). This is from a drainage area of 8.17 square miles (21.16 km). The maximum flow recorded during this period was 2,610 cubic feet per second (74 m/s) on December 22, 1964. It occurred during

5457-759: The accumulated snow) ranged in 2009 from 0 in July–October to about 50 inches (1,300 mm) in April. A station on the North Fork at an elevation of 3,060 feet (930 m) reported a minimum mean SWE of 0 in July–October 2009 and a maximum of about 37 inches (940 mm) in April. In the same year at the South Fork station, elevation 2,690 feet (820 m), the mean SWE varied from 0 in June–September to about 10 inches (250 mm) in March. Although most of

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5564-409: The barred owl over the northern spotted owl, worsening the northern spotted owl's ability to compete. Paired with more predation of prey that is shared between the barred owl and the northern spotted owl, the introduction of the barred owl in these areas may have unknown long term effects on the ecological balance of these habitats. The most drastic effect is on the northern spotted owl population, which

5671-453: The city. At about the same time as the Smith survey, a small farming community, at first named Unavilla but renamed Bull Run in 1895, grew up near the confluence of the Bull Run and Sandy rivers. Meanwhile, improvements to the Barlow Road encouraged population growth along the lower Sandy and the establishment of cities like Gresham and Sandy . Even so, by 1900 much of the upper Sandy basin

5778-475: The combined flow entered the lower Bull Run River after leaving the powerhouse, the system altered the flows of three rivers. In 1999, close to a century after the start of the project, PGE announced that it would remove the Marmot and Little Sandy dams and related equipment and close the 22- megawatt powerhouse because of costs associated with maintenance and fish protection. Marmot Dam was demolished in 2007 and

5885-581: The company finished construction on a 22-mile (35 km) railway line between the Montavilla neighborhood in east Portland and Bull Run. In 1912, the year the powerhouse began generating electricity, the MHR&P merged with the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company , (PRL&P), which later modified the line for use by electric trolleys . In 1913, the PRL&;P, the predecessor of

5992-411: The confluence of the Bull Run and Sandy rivers, 14-acre (5.7 ha) Dodge Park offers tree-shaded picnic areas, a swimming hole , a sandy beach, and a boat ramp for launching rafts, kayaks , and drift boats on the Sandy River. The Portland Water Bureau owns and maintains the park, established in the early 20th century. Originally called Bull Run Park, it was renamed for Frank Dodge, superintendent of

6099-520: The electric utility company known as Portland General Electric (PGE), expanded the hydroelectric project by building Marmot Dam at RM 30 (RK 48) on the Sandy River, from which it diverted water through canals and tunnels, the longest of which was 4,690 feet (1,430 m), to the Little Sandy River upstream of the Little Sandy Dam. This increased the maximum flow along the flume to Roslyn Lake from about 200 cubic feet per second (5.7 m /s) to about 800 cubic feet per second (23 m /s). Since

6206-480: The environmentalists' movement. Most spotted owls inhabit federal lands ( Forest Service , Bureau of Land Management , and National Park Service lands), although significant numbers occur on state lands in Washington , Oregon , and California , as well as tribal and private properties. Northern spotted owls range on 500,000 acres of the 7.6 percent of private forestlands managed by Native American tribes in

6313-403: The equipment. PGE, a corporation with home offices in Portland, has many other sources of electricity, which it sells to customers in a 4,000-square-mile (10,000 km ) service area in the northern Willamette Valley. Extensive timber cutting in the Sandy River basin began in the mid-19th century in response to a demand for wood from the Portland metropolitan area. Logging intensified in

6420-659: The family Strigidae , genus Strix , it is a medium-sized dark brown owl native to the Pacific Northwest . An important indicator species , the northern spotted owl remains threatened due to continued population decline from human-caused habitat destruction and competition with invasive species, its main competitor being the barred owl . Northern spotted owls have dark brown plumage with white spots and no ear tufts. They are typically around sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are about 10-20% larger than males. Their wingspan

6527-400: The female laying two or three eggs in March or April. Eggs are incubated by the female for around thirty days until hatching. After hatching, the young owls remain in the nest and the adult female provides primary care. Fledgling occurs in 34 to 36 days. The hunting and feeding is done by the male during this time. The young owls remain with the parents until late summer to early fall. They leave

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6634-492: The floods of December 1964 and January 1965, rated by the National Weather Service as one of Oregon's top 10 weather events of the 20th century. The minimum was 1.0 cubic foot per second (0.028 m/s) on December 2–7, 2003. The Bull Run River watershed, which includes Blazed Alder Creek, drains 139 square miles (360 km). Most of the watershed, including all of the Blazed Alder Creek basin,

6741-405: The following tributaries has one gauge: Fir Creek, Blazed Alder Creek, the North Fork, the South Fork, and the Little Sandy. Near the outlet structure of Bull Run Lake, a USGS water-stage recorder at RM 21.9 (RK 46.8) has collected data on lake levels since 1992. The maximum lake content between then and 2009 was 48,340 acre-feet (59,630,000 m ) on February 9, 1996, and the minimum

6848-415: The form of rain, but at higher elevations 25 to 30 percent of the moisture arrives as snow. Fog drip may add significantly to total precipitation in the vicinity of Bull Run Lake. A study published in 1982 suggested that standard rain gauges placed in open areas might be underestimating the contribution of fog drip to heavily forested parts of the watershed by up to 30 percent. Accumulated snow

6955-571: The goal of producing owls in captivity for release into protected habitat to prevent the extirpation of the species from Canada. The short-term goals of the Program include growing the captive population to 10 breeding pairs and releasing 10-20 offspring per year into the 300,000 hectares of protected old-growth forest. Long-term the Breeding Program aims to recover the wild population to self-sustaining numbers, approximately 300 adults, over

7062-408: The headworks dam or its successor, Dam 2, have blocked anadromous fish passage to the upper river and its tributaries. Many amphibian and reptile species thrive near streams and ponds. Roosevelt elk , American black bear , coyote , cougar , black-tailed deer , North American river otter , American mink , and North American beaver are among the mammals found in the watershed. Adjacent to

7169-586: The lake's limnological condition, it "has always returned to conditions similar to those seen at present." Turbidity is sometimes a problem in Reservoirs ;1 and 2 when unstable soils sandwiched between layers of lava erode into tributaries, especially the North and South forks. Archeological evidence suggests that Native Americans lived along the lower Columbia River as early as 10,000 years ago. The area near what later became The Dalles , on

7276-421: The larger river's confluence with the Columbia River . The USGS and the water bureau operate a stream gauge at RM 4.7 (RK 7.6), which is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) downstream from Bull Run Reservoir 2 and the water system intake. Measurements are for the river only and do not include water diverted upstream of the gauge to the city water supply or to a former power plant. The maximum flow at this station

7383-432: The level of the basalt. Since basalt resists erosion, water traveling over it remains relatively free of sediments. Less than 2 percent of the watershed is at high risk for landslides. The Bull Run River's three reservoirs—Bull Run Lake, Bull Run Reservoir 1, and Bull Run Reservoir 2—are oligotrophic and do not sustain many life forms. Bull Run Lake is in a steep-sided cirque blocked at its lower end by

7490-405: The lower basin through the 20th century as sawmills became established in Sandy, Boring, Brightwood and other settlements in the region, and railroad spurs extended into the forests. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Bull Run Trespass Act to forbid activities such as camping and livestock grazing in the Bull Run Reserve. Except for activity related to the waterworks,

7597-584: The lumber industry. One study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison by environmental scientists argued that logging jobs had been in a long decline and that environmental protection was not a significant factor in job loss. From 1947 to 1964, the number of logging jobs declined 90%. Starting with the Wilderness Act of 1964, environmental protection saved 51,000 jobs in the Pacific Northwest. Studies published in 2021 and 2024 suggest that listing

7704-599: The nest and form their own winter feeding range. By spring, the young owls' territory will be from 2 to 24 miles from the parents. There are fewer than 1,200 pairs in Oregon, 560 pairs in Northern California, and 500 pairs in Washington. Washington alone has lost over 90 percent of its old growth forest due to logging which has caused a 40-90 percent decline of the Northern Spotted Owl population. The worldwide IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status for

7811-656: The next 10–20 years. In 2021, there were only 3 individuals left in the wild in Canada. The wild population dwindled down to a single female inhabiting the forests of the Spuzzum First Nation . The captive breeding program saw three males released nearby in August 2022, but one was brought back into captivity after being hit by a train and the other two died of unknown causes in May 2023. The captive breeding population has around 30 individuals. The northern spotted owl

7918-416: The northern spotted owl range has resulted in decreased food availability due to overlap in dietary preferences. The northern spotted owl is intolerant of habitat disturbance. Each nesting pair needs a large amount of land for hunting and nesting, and will not migrate unless they experience drastic seasonal changes, such as heavy snows, which make hunting difficult. Their flight pattern is distinct, involving

8025-452: The northern spotted owl was stopped by court order in 1991. In 1990, the logging industry estimated up to 30,000 of 168,000 jobs would be lost because of the owl's status, which agreed closely with a Forest Service estimate. Harvests of timber in the Pacific Northwest were reduced by 80%, decreasing the supply of lumber and increasing prices. However, jobs were already declining because of dwindling old-growth forest harvests and automation of

8132-399: The northern spotted owls. As barred owl population densities increase, the strain of food competition will worsen for northern spotted owls. The greater diversity of diet in the barred owl, notably in the amphibians, crayfish, and fish consumed, threatens ecological stability due to extended predation now experienced by affected species. The additional food sources also give an advantage to

8239-639: The protected area changed little until the 1950s, when the United States Forest Service began to advocate logging in the Reserve. After the U.S. Congress passed the Multiple Use – Sustained Yield Act of 1960 stressing timber production in the national forests, the Forest Service in the 1960s and 1970s built about 170 miles (270 km) of forest roads in the watershed. Before the road-building and heavy logging, "The watershed [had] remained almost inviolable for nearly 60 years, its runoff protected by

8346-494: The protected habitat of the northern spotted owl, 15 times the amount it had previously proposed opening to the timber industry. Aurelia Skipwith, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, stated that "these common-sense revisions ensure we are continuing to recover the northern spotted owl while being a good neighbor to rural communities within the critical habitat" even though northern spotted owl populations continue to decline. This

8453-466: The public, whitewater enthusiasts sometimes run the lower 2.5-mile (4.0 km) stretch from the Bull Run Road bridge to the Sandy River. The put-in place for the run is just below the powerhouse, and the take-out is at Dodge Park. The run features a permanent slalom course near the put-in, six class 3 rapids in the first 2 miles (3 km), and a short stretch of class 2 water at the end of

8560-499: The river in conjunction with a hydroelectric project and a related railroad line. About 6 miles (10 km) of the lower river is open to fishing and boating, and the land at the confluence of the Bull Run and Sandy rivers has been a public park since the early 20th century. The Bull Run River begins at Bull Run Lake, a natural body of water modified slightly by the Portland Water Bureau , near Hiyo Mountain in

8667-745: The rocks of the Columbia River Gorge. Within the past few thousand years, Indians created trails across the Cascade Range around Mount Hood . In the 19th century, this trail network linked the Wascopam Mission near The Dalles to settlements in the Willamette Valley . One popular trail crossed over Lolo Pass, near the headwaters of the Bull Run River, and another, which later became the Barlow Road , met

8774-611: The run. Fishing is limited to the lower reaches of the river. Hatchery Chinook salmon and summer and winter steelhead are sometimes caught near the confluence with the Sandy River, and catch and release fishing for wild trout is allowed from the mouth of the river to the edge of the Bull Run watershed reserve. Access to the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit is generally limited to government employees and guests on official business, and security guards keep watch on its three gated entrances. However,

8881-867: The same geographical areas unless forced out from harsh conditions or lack of food. The northern spotted owl diet consists of small mammals (91.5%), birds (4.3%), insects (4.1%), and other prey (0.1%). These prey are mostly nocturnal (91.9%) or active during the day and night (4.8%), which corresponds to the primarily nocturnal nature of the northern spotted owl. The main species consumed by the northern spotted owl are northern flying squirrels ( Glaucomys sabrinus ), woodrats ( Neotoma fuscipes and N. cinerea ), red tree voles ( Arborimus longicaudus ), western red-backed voles ( Clethnonomys californicus ), deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus ), and gophers ( Thomomys spp.). Consumption of these small mammals varies by habitat region and proliferation of small nocturnal mammals. Recent invasion of barred owls ( Strix varia ) into

8988-585: The second half of the 20th century, and erosion increased. For a time in 1996, Portland had to shut down the Bull Run supply because of turbidity and switch to water from wells. A law passed later that year prohibited most logging in or near the watershed, and since then the Portland Water Bureau and the United States Forest Service have closed many of the logging roads and removed culverts and other infrastructure contributing to erosion. Mature trees, most of them more than 500 years old and more than 21 inches (53 cm) in diameter, cover about half of

9095-433: The species is a very limited event, and likely insufficient to be significantly detrimental to either species. Direct competition between species for habitat space and food is determined to be much more significant issues in affecting both target populations. There has also been genetic evidence of cross breeding between northern spotted owls and California spotted owls ( S. o. occidentalis ), but since both are subspecies of

9202-415: The species. Early proposals were criticized by environmental groups as significantly weakening existing protections for the species. The Obama administration reversed proposals that would have increased logging on Bureau of Land Management administered lands. Recent discussion has been focused on two novel approaches. One of these would emphasize wildfire management as key to owl persistence on the east side of

9309-611: The spotted owl species is " Near Threatened " with a decreasing population trend. As the IUCN Red List does not track subspecies, this status is applied to species across its whole range in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The population in British Columbia has become almost extinct. From an original population of at least 1,000, fewer than 100 breeding pairs were left in the 1990s. The Canadian population

9416-541: The state of Washington. Federally recognized tribes are treated as sovereign governments, and each recognized tribe is responsible for their own management plans for the northern spotted owls in their area. Regardless of tribal or private ownership, however, the United States federal government requires all land owners and inhabitants to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The northern spotted owl nests in cavities or on platforms in large trees. It will also use abandoned nests of other species. Northern spotted owls remain in

9523-430: The three different styles of calls, hoots appear to be most commonly used to announce things, such as territory and prey. The whistles are often used by the females to present themselves to the males, and the barks during territorial issues between owls. The northern spotted owl primarily inhabits old growth forests in the northern part of its range (extreme southwestern Canada to southern Oregon ) and landscapes with

9630-402: The water bureau from 1897 to 1914. Until supplanted by automobile highways, the electric trolley to Bull Run carried passengers to and from the park until 1930. The water bureau estimates that at least 30,000 people visited the park in 1926. As of 2015 , the bureau has plans to restore and improve the park as time and money allow. Although most of the Bull Run River watershed is closed to

9737-509: The water bureau offers public tours in the summer and fall, and hikers may use the Pacific Crest Trail , which runs along the eastern edge of the watershed near Mount Hood. The bureau has been averaging about 85 group tours a year. Notes References Northern spotted owl The northern spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ) is one of three spotted owl subspecies . A western North American bird in

9844-426: The water supply for the city of Portland. Flowing north from its source in the western foothills of the Cascade Range , the creek passes a United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream gauge before receiving Nanny Creek from the left just before leaving Clackamas County and entering Multnomah County. Further downstream, it receives an unnamed tributary from the left before entering the Bull Run River. Since 1963,

9951-566: The watershed consists of unvegetated water bodies or bare rock and a tiny fraction of meadow . More than 250 wildlife species, including peregrine falcon , bald eagle and northern spotted owl are thought to frequent the watershed. Migratory birds such as loons use the basin for feeding and nesting as they travel along the Pacific Flyway . Native fish species include chinook and coho salmon, steelhead , coastal cutthroat trout , Pacific lamprey , and rainbow trout, but since 1922

10058-420: The watershed is generally closed to the public, the protected area includes forest roads, buildings, three dams and reservoirs, two hydroelectric power stations, and other infrastructure used by government employees who manage the forest and the water supply system. The system includes a concrete dam and spillway, added to the natural outlet of Bull Run Lake. The dam, completed in about 1960, was preceded in 1915 by

10165-423: The watershed's annual runoff is diverted to the city's water supply. The main roads within the BRWMU include Forest Road 10, which runs for much of its length along the north side of the river. It links the community of Bull Run near the mouth of the river and Forest Road 18 (Lolo Pass Road) east of Bull Run Lake. Branching off Forest Road 10 downstream of Reservoir 2, Forest Roads 12 and 14 form

10272-482: The watershed, and the rest of the watershed is also heavily forested. Annual precipitation ranges from 80 inches (2,000 mm) near the water supply intake to as much as 170 inches (4,300 mm) near the headwaters. More than 250 wildlife species, including the protected northern spotted owl , inhabit this forest. Downstream of the BRWMU, the watershed is far less restricted. In the late 19th century, an unincorporated community, Bull Run , became established near

10379-565: The years, with little response from environmentalists as the owl's population continues to decline by 7.3 percent per year. In 2004 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reaffirmed that the owl remained threatened, but indicated that invasion by barred owls into the range and habitat of the spotted owl was also a cause of declining spotted owl populations. In 2007, the USFWS proposed a new recovery plan intended to guide all management actions on lands where spotted owls occur, and to aid in recovery of

10486-446: Was 15,800 cubic feet per second (450 m /s) on November 5, 1999. The minimum was 30 cubic feet per second (0.85 m /s) on October 28–31, 1987. The uppermost stream gauge on the main stem is at RM 20.9 (RK 30.6), 1 mile (1.6 km) downstream from the outlet structure at Bull Run Lake. In operation since 1992, the gauge recorded an average flow of 26.1 cubic feet per second (0.74 m /s) between then and 2009. This

10593-440: Was 24,800 cubic feet per second (700 m /s) on December 22, 1964, and the minimum flow was 1.1 cubic feet per second (0.031 m /s) on October 4, 1974. The drainage area above this gauge is 107 square miles (280 km ), about 77 percent of the whole watershed. The maximum flow occurred during the floods of December 1964 and January 1965, rated by the National Weather Service as one of Oregon's top 10 weather events of

10700-423: Was 31,080 acre-feet (38,340,000 m ) on October 29, 1992. The two Bull Run reservoirs are also equipped with water-stage recorders. Columbia River basalts , 10 to 20 million years old, that underlie much of the Bull Run watershed are exposed near the bottoms of steep canyons along the river and its tributaries. In the western half of the watershed, the Rhododendron formation, rich in sediments , overlies

10807-568: Was declared endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada under the 2002 Species at Risk Act , now numbers less than 100 breeding pairs of birds. By 2002 it was 30 breeding pairs, and by 2005 just 22 individuals containing 6 breeding pairs. A captive breeding and release program mooted in 2006 removed 10 individuals from the wild. It started in 2007 in Langley with

10914-423: Was from a drainage area of 5.08 square miles (13.2 km ), about 4 percent of the total watershed. The maximum flow recorded during this period was 148 cubic feet per second (4.2 m /s) on February 7, 1996. The minimum was 8.2 cubic feet per second (0.23 m /s) on October 28, 1992. In addition to the three main-stem gauges, the USGS operates five other stream gauges in the Bull Run watershed. Each of

11021-565: Was halted. Shortly thereafter, Congress rescinded the Bull Run Trespass Act and replaced it with the Bull Run Watershed Management Act of 1977, which created the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit (BRWMU) (replacing the Bull Run Reserve) and legalized further Bull Run logging unless it could be shown to reduce water quality. Logging and the debate about logging continued. In 1994 about 75 percent of

11128-611: Was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act throughout its range of northern California, Oregon and Washington by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on June 23, 1990 citing loss of old-growth habitat as the primary threat. The USFWS previously reviewed the status of the northern spotted owl in 1982, 1987 and 1989 but found it did not warrant listing as either threatened or endangered. Logging in national forests containing

11235-551: Was reversed by the Biden administration in 2021, restoring previous protections. The barred owl is an owl species native to the Eastern United States, but has invasively expanded west into the habitat ranges of the northern spotted owl. Invasion of barred owls into the northern spotted owl’s habitat has occurred recently, with all of northern spotted owl territory now also inhabited by the barred owl. Barred owls have

11342-529: Was still remote, wild, and accessible mainly by trails. Expanding the system's storage and delivery capacities in stages, the city built Conduit 2 from Bull Run to Portland in 1911, and in 1917 constructed a small dam at the high water outlet of Bull Run Lake. In 1921, the city replaced the headworks diversion dam with a new one, about 40 feet (12 m) high, and added Conduit 3. In 1929, Portland built Dam 1 (the Ben Morrow Dam), which

11449-618: Was used as a benchmark during early watershed surveys. Formed by the confluence of Bedrock Creek and Hickman Creek in Clackamas County, Blazed Alder Creek begins slightly north of Blazed Alder Butte and flows through the Mount Hood National Forest to meet the Bull Run River in Multnomah County. The creek lies entirely within the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit, a restricted area meant to protect

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