After a brief closure for habitat restoration work, Oxbow Park is set to reopen to the public Saturday.
Oxbow's main access road will be open to the public beginning April 6. The new culvert was successfully installed, completing the first phase of the Happy Creek Restoration project, led by the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council. Expect to see project construction in the park throughout the summer.
The new culvert will restore the natural path of a perennial stream that was diverted when the Oxbow Park road was built in the 1940s. The Happy Creek project is the first in a series of Lower Sandy River restoration projects identified as high potential ecological value – restoring key habitat for threatened wild salmon and steelhead, which need places where they can feed, rest, and grow before they migrate to the Pacific Ocean. Funding comes from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, and Portland General Electric's habitat support.
For project details and construction updates visit http://sandyriver.org, or call the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council at 503-622-9134.