This project focuses on the restoration of smokey creek, a tributary to the south fork john day river

This is an ecologically significant watershed in eastern oregon that provides critical habitat for ESA-listed mid-columbia river steelhead. The project's primary mission is to improve stream function and watershed resilience through process-based restoration aimed at enhancing fish habitat, encouraging beaver recovery, and increasing water retention on the landscape. In collaboration with a local private landowner and contractor, the project will restore approximately 0.5 miles of smokey creek with an estimated 42 beaver DAM analogs (bdas) & post-assisted log structures (pals). This partnership reflects a strong commitment to community-based conservation and builds trust with private landowners who manage much of the landscape in the south fork john day watershed. The project will not only improve steelhead habitat and support beaver recolonization, but also provide local economic opportunities by employing a dayville-based contractor with long-standing ties to the watershed. The project has broader community benefits as well. By working with the south fork john day watershed council, which has an established history of landowner engagement and education, the project will help promote local stewardship, increase public awareness of watershed health, and potentially serve as a model for future collaborative restoration efforts across the region. The long-term impacts include improved ecological function, enhanced fish and wildlife habitat, and a more resilient watershed that can better withstand drought, wildfire and other environmental stressors. Through targeted ecological restoration and genuine local partnership, this project advances regional conservation goals, supports working lands, and demonstrates how community driven solutions can have lasting positive impacts on both people and the environment.