Timberline Lodge and National Forest Foundation partner to support Collaborative Effort in Salmon River Historic Side Channel Restoration

Salmon River, OR. – (August 9, 2012) A significant side channel habitat restoration project on the Salmon River benefitting threatened salmon and steelhead trout and sensitive amphibian and invertebrate species will get underway this week. The project was made possible from a broad-based partnership between the USDA Forest Service, Timberline Lodge, National Forest Foundation, The Freshwater Trust, Bureau of Land Management, Sandy River Basin Watershed Council, and Sandy River Basin Partners. The restoration project will reactivate a historic side channel and add large wood to a site in the Salmon River in an effort to increase fish spawning habitat, provide refuge for juvenile fish, reduce the magnitude of floods, and increase habitat complexity for all aquatic species.

Partial funding of the Salmon River side channel restoration project is from a partnership between Timberline Lodge and the National Forest Foundation (NFF).Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark and year ‘round destination for alpine recreation is located in the heart of the Mount Hood National Forest. RLK and Company, operators of Timberline, recognize that they are operating within a cherished natural landscape valued for its natural resources as well as its scenic, historic, recreational, and economic characteristics. Timberline is proud to participate in this side channel restoration project through the NFF’s Ski Conservation Fund. The Ski Conservation Fund (SCF) provides a way for overnight guests of Timberline Lodge to make voluntary contributions to support local stewardship and restoration work on the National Forest, making it an even better place to live and play. NFF leverages additional matching funds with those guest contributions, multiplying conservation impacts and resources available to nonprofit partners like the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council to implement projects that directly benefit the Mount Hood National Forest.

About the National Forest Foundation
Founded by Congress in 1991, the National Forest Foundation works to conserve, restore and enhance America’s 193-million-acre National Forest System. Through community-based strategies and public-private partnerships, the NFF enhances wildlife habitat, revitalizes wildfire-damaged landscapes, restores watersheds, and improves recreational resources for the benefit of all Americans. The NFF’s Treasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences national conservation campaign is uniting public and private partners to conduct large-scale forest and watershed restoration and revitalize ecosystem resiliency in iconic National Forest System sites around the nation. To learn more, visit us at www.nationalforests.org.