This area of the wood river has been recognized as a priority for restoration efforts by the pacific southwest region partners for fish and wildlife strategic plan

Award Details: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 8, awarded $260,000 through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (CFDA 15.631) to Trout Unlimited, Inc. on October 1, 2025, with project completion anticipated by May 19, 2031.

Scope of Work: Trout Unlimited will execute habitat restoration and fish passage improvement services on Annie Creek, a tributary to the Wood River in Fort Klamath, Oregon. The primary deliverable is reconnecting a historic side-channel to the mainstem of Annie Creek by retiring the last irrigation diversion on the creek and addressing fish passage barriers created by an existing right-of-way canal. These restoration activities are designed to restore hydrological functions, recharge shallow groundwater tables, improve soil moisture and pasture productivity for economic benefit to the landowner, and enhance riparian habitat for aquatic species—particularly the threatened Oregon spotted frog (OSF). The project aligns with the Pacific Southwest Region Partners for Fish and Wildlife Strategic Plan and will be implemented through a cooperative agreement with the private landowner requiring a minimum 10-year commitment. The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board has separately funded the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor OSF population response to the restoration efforts.

Annie creek is a major tributary to the wood river and may have had a variety of pathways and side-channels that meandered through this project site. This section of annie creek has been highly modified for agricultural use. Due to these modifications shallow groundwater on the project site has been greatly affected, the soils are void of historic moisture levels, and the pasture production is minimal. This project will be beneficial for improvement of the hydrological functions of annie creek, will improve drought resilience of the property by recharging the shallow ground water table, improve moisture content of soils which in turn increases pasture productivity providing economic benefits, improve water quality and availability to downstream users, and could possibly create more riparian habitat for fish and wildlife this ranch also once had a robust population of oregon spotted frog (OSF), however drought and changes in water calls have diminished and concentrated the population to a small area on the property. The USFWS is partnering with trout unlimited and the landowner to reconnect a historic side-channel back to the mainstem of annie creek. The last diversion located on annie creek that delivers irrigation water to the property is slated to be retired and will be the point of reconnection to the historic side-channel. There is a right of way canal that bisects the property and intersects the historic side-channel, this is a fish passage barrier and will be addressed during design and implementation to create volitional movement within the side-channel. The oregon watershed enhancement board provided a grant for this property for the monitoring of OSF response to the restoration efforts by the U.S. Geological survey. This project aligns with the partners for fish and wildlife act (16 U.S.C 3771-3774) that provides for the restoration, enhancement, and management of fish and wildlife habitats on private land by working with landowners to conduct cost-effective habitat projects for the benefit of fish and wildlife resources in the united states. This project is consistent with the draft DOI strategic plan framework 2026-2030. Specifically, objective 3.1 (promote hunting and fishing & supporting local and gateway community economies), objective 3.4 (support species populations and health and support CO-management with stakeholders and tribes & support CO-management with local stakeholders and tribes), and objective 4.2 (support public-private partnerships).