The Willamette Confluence Preserve, 1,300 acres of restored wildlife conservation land in Lane County, has recently transferred ownership to the Mckenzie River Trust from The Nature Conservancy for long-term management.
A confluence is an area where two rivers meet. In this case, it is the confluence of the coast fork and middle fork of the Willamette River. The site is located just outside of Eugene near Mt. Pisgah. McKenzie River Trust also owns and has restored and managed a piece of land at the confluence of the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers called Green Island since 2003, giving them experience working with this type of project, according to McKenzie River Trust director Joe Moll.
This confluence had previously been a gravel mining site since the 1940s, leaving the land and river altered and nearly bare of native vegetation. In 2010, The Nature Conservancy bought the land from Wildish Construction using Willamette Wildlife Mitigation program funding and began the decade-long restoration process.
“In general, what we were trying to do there is just set the river and the floodplain and the landscape on a trajectory of healing,” Jason Nuckols, Restoration Project Manager at the Nature Conservancy, said.
Bonneville Power Administration and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board funded this project through conservation easements.
“What we’re really trying to do is reconnect the river and add complexity and also allow the river to meander and provide for all those concerns as it does for fish and wildlife and people,” Nuckols said.
This project involved planting over 500,000 trees and shrubs on the site. It also entailed restructuring the geometric and unnatural state the landscape was left in, allowing the river to reconnect and create more natural conditions for the river and floodplain to recover on its own.
The site was funded and restored for the purpose of becoming a habitat area to cater to the fish and wildlife that live on the property due to the fact that this area is a habitat for many species, including over 30 species that are considered at risk. One of these species is the Chinook Salmon, which has been put under fishing cancellations across Oregon for the 2023 fishing season. In addition, many fish species use these forks of the river to travel and spawn, and the oak woodlands on the property support many bird species.
Fish and Wildlife Project Manager for the BPA Virginia Price said there are also many species that are significant to the Indigenous tribes of Oregon in the area.
“That is always one of our major focal points when conserving these properties, is ensuring that we are providing a benefit not only to the peoples of the future and being sustainable in that way, but we’re also protecting these culturally significant species and properties,” Price said.
The property is currently not open to the public because of the conservation easements, which keeps land in private ownership, and requires the investing companies to guarantee this property is protected and prioritizing its conservation goals. However, the McKenzie River Trust holds tours and offers volunteer opportunities on the property throughout the year for those who wish to learn about the property or get involved.
“Probably one of our bigger challenges is, we’ve been describing it as, how do you help people love a place without sort of loving it to death or overrunning it?” McKenzie River Trust director Joe Moll said.
Because people have been living and building around rivers, those rivers have been simplified, habitats have been limited and floodplains have been destroyed, Moll said.
Not only is the Willamette Confluence Preserve beneficial to the wildlife in the area, but it also provides benefits for the surrounding community by maintaining cleaner water at the source, Moll said. Springfield Utility Board pulls water from the Middle Fork just north of the confluence through their water facilities, and Eugene Water and Electric Board has plans to put in a water facility just downstream of the confluence in 2026.
“Protecting areas upstream and adjacent to source water areas is really critical from a long term resource,” Moll said. “We see this as an opportunity to build upstream and help landowners and other communities who want to do a better job of caring for that source water.”
Moll also sees visual recreational benefits in the land turning back to nature. He said the McKenzie River Trust recognizes the importance of the role natural areas play in helping people relax and reset.
Moll said the long term goal is to let the area recover and adapt naturally and reintroduce dynamism to the confluence. While they intend to let nature take its course, this will still involve active management in the upcoming years.
“For me, a long term professional goal is, I think, coming to fruition, that we’re talking about nature conservation as integral to community development,” Moll said. “It’s not simply that we’d love to watch nature or touch nature, but natural flowing rivers have great benefits to us.”
McKenzie River Trust will continue to own and manage the confluence for the foreseeable future.
The McKenzie River Trust books tours of the Willamette Confluence Preserve, as well as other community events, tours and fundraisers, on its website.