Historical Conditions

Background

Rock and Richardson Creek watersheds are located in a transition zone between the conifer forests of the Cascade Mountains and the oak/prairie grasslands of the Willamette Valley. Research into Government Land Office Surveys (GLO) by the Natural Resource Heritage program of the Nature Conservancy indicates that prior to Euro-American settlement Douglas-fir forest and woodland dominated most of the area of both watersheds. The uplands of the lava domes were characterized by closed canopy old growth Douglas-fir, grand fir, and bigleaf maple. Hazelnut, Pacific dogwood, vine maple, and Pacific yew composed the understory. The valley floors were similar, but also included western hemlock and western red cedar.

Flood plains along or near the Clackamas River had closed hardwood forests, including Oregon ash, cottonwood, alder, maple, and white oak. There were small patches of conifer, including Douglas-fir and western red cedar.

Upper Richardson Creek appears to have had quite a lot of open canopy Douglas-fir forest. This may have been an area more intensively managed with fire by native Americans. It would have included oak trees, and possibly ponderosa pine.

Patches of heavily burned forest were scattered throughout the area. These could have been created by Indians to facilitate hunting and food gathering, or may have resulted from white settlers clearing land for farms. The downcut canyons of lower Rock and Richardson Creeks would have had similar composition and structure to what we find there today, a mixed conifer and deciduous riparian woodland. A few old growth conifers still exist in lower Richardson Creek. The Clackamas Band, related to the larger Chinookan language group of the lower Columbia River, were likely the primary residents of the Rock and Richardson Creek areas. They left little direct evidence of their presence, but their primary use of the area would have been fishing in the lower areas of both creeks. The current site of the BI-MART in Damascus was formerly a seasonal gathering area for native peoples. By burning the uplands periodically, they would have facilitated hunting and travel, as well as gathering of acorns, hazelnuts, and wild berries. Generally, the Chinookans had semi-permanent or seasonal village sites at key fishing areas (such as Willamette Falls.) Their use of upland areas overlapped with other bands. Uplands had "use rights" agreed upon between bands, but were not considered to be owned by anyone in particular.

The area was crisscrossed with important Indian travel routes that were later incorporated into Euro-American settlement patterns. Among these were the Foster-Barlow trail that connected Mt Hood, Oregon City, Milwaukie and Portland. Generally these routes follow the valley floors and gaps between the lava domes.

Landscape conversion

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Euro-Americans gradually converted the forested landscape to a patchwork of farms, including cropland, pasture, and orchards. The soils of Rock and Richardson Creek watersheds were not ideal for farming, so they were not the first to be cleared and tilled. Interviews with long time residents of upper Pleasant Valley indicate that their grandparents practiced a combination of logging and subsistence agriculture rather than large-scale commercial farming. Dairy farming was fairly important in this area in the 1920s and 1930s. The early farmers of the area had to deal with these over-saturated soils by devising extensive tile drainage systems. A current resident of Pleasant Valley unearthed a hollow cedar drainage pipe that dates back to the early 1900's (Olson, et. al., 2000). Farmers channelized creeks, drained wetlands, and built communities. At the turn of the twentieth century a local pottery industry based in upper Richardson Creek used local clay as source material and may have been responsible for some channel modifications.

Farming peaked just before World War II, and then gradually declined as the area became drawn into the post-war suburban housing boom. Large farms were subdivided again and again. Areas with relatively well-drained soils suitable for septic fields were developed as large lot (one half to two acres) home sites that are fairly common in the land use pattern today.

Recent trends

Many former farms have reverted to early successional hardwood forests over the past 40–50 years. Other farms have shifted from food production to nurseries or Christmas trees. Statewide land use planning initiated in the 1970s brought a halt to new subdivisions in areas outside of established urban growth boundaries. Urban development has encroached on the west edge of lower Rock Creek. About 50 percent of both watersheds will likely be urbanized over the next two to twenty years. Damascus will become a densely developed "town center" according to present plans. Recent news articles point to a further expansion of the urban growth boundary to a point several miles east of Damascus in order to incorporate land suitable for industrial development.

The accompanying map on page 9 showing the current urban growth boundary and the urban reserve zone indicates the extent of this planned urbanization.

Historic fish counts and distribution

The Euro-American history of the Clackamas River fishery dates from the late 1800s. At that time a commercial fishery was located at the confluence of the Willamette and the Clackamas Rivers. Harvests were recorded to be as high as 12,000 chinook salmon in 1894. In fact, prior to 1899 the Clackamas River was considered to be the premier spring chinook fishery in the entire Pacific Northwest (ODFW 1992). Hatcheries were developed in the Clackamas basin in the late 1800s, used primarily to augment spring chinook populations, which were already in decline. Large numbers of salmon and steelhead were introduced into the lower Clackamas in the 1950s and 1960s as attempted mitigation for passage problems at the PGE hydro complex near Estacada (Beyer, 1992). There are no published accounts of historic fish populations specific to Rock and Richardson Creeks.

Historical conditions timeline

10,000–13,000 years ago: "Clovis" peoples arrive in the Rock and Richardson Creek area. Closed forest develops in the Cascade region.
300–10,000 years ago: Indian culture gradually develops new technologies and land use patterns. Deliberate burning of prairies and forests likely begins 4,000 years ago. Clackamas Band population at 2,500.
150–300 years ago: Age of European exploration and discovery reaches Northwest Coast. Trade between Europeans and Indians. Diseases begin to reduce Indian populations. Large fires sweep down Clackamas Basin, resulting in forest stand replacement over wide areas.
150 years ago: Settlers arrive across Oregon Trail, some crossing right through Rock and Richardson Creek watersheds. Indian populations severely reduced in size. Clackamas Band down to 80 people.
100–150 years ago: Euro-American settlers gradually clear forests of Rock/Richardson Creeks and establish roads, villages, and farms. Extensive drain tiling installed.
50–100 years ago: Area farms subdivided. Many are abandoned and return to forest cover.
25–50 years ago: Post-war suburban housing boom results in population growth in Rock Richardson Creek watersheds. Dense network of paved roads established, including culverts that block fish migration. Nurseries and Christmas tree farms displace food production.
Present–25 years: Highway 212 and 224 widened. Urban development encroaches on the westside of Rock Creek watershed. Land use planning established. Salmon listed as threatened and Clackamas River Basin Council formed.

Recommendations for additional historical information:

See oral histories gathered from interviews of Pleasant Valley residents in Olson, S., et al, (2000)
The Damascus Historical Society and the Oregon Historic Society may have more detailed available information.
Interview long time residents to research past fish occurrence, stream channelization, and other issues.
Contact the Northwest Pottery Research Center (503-287-6733) to assess the location and role of pottery industry in upper Richardson Creek.
Examine historic photos from the Clackamas County surveyor's office (dating from 1941) and others made available from local residents.

Channel habitat type

Background

Rock and Richardson Creek channel types Channel habitat types are stream segments that have similar characteristics. These include gradient, or slope of the stream channel, shape of the valley and channel that confines the stream, the pattern of the channel, where it is located, and the structure of the stream bed. By understanding the nature of each section of channel, we can better understand how it carries water, what sort of habitat it should produce, and how it is affected by sediment or other inputs. By understanding the channel habitat type, it is possible to develop an approach to restoration or protection that matches the natural capability of each stream or stream segment.

Findings

Channel habitat types (CHT) are classified into standard descriptions.1 The OWEB manual identifies 14 standards channel classifications. Of these, eight have been identified for Rock and Richardson Creek watersheds, as shown on the accompanying map of Stream Channel Types.

These eight types are listed below:

Low Gradient Confined (LC)
Low Gradient Moderately Confined (LM)
Low Unconfined Small Stream (LUS)
Moderate Gradient Headwater/Moderate Gradient Confined (MH/MC)
Moderate Gradient Headwater/Moderately Steep Narrow Valley/Bedrock Canyon (MH/MV/BC)
Moderate Gradient Moderately Confined (MM)
Steep Narrow Valley/Bedrock Canyon/Moderately Steep Narrow Valley (SV/BC/MV)
Very Steep headwater (VH)

Consultants for Metro mapped CHTs in early 1999 using GIS software, USGS elevation models, and interpretation from maps. Classifications assigned were not field verified. Spot-checking by Ecotrust indicates that some of the stream gradient calculations by Metro may overstate the steepness of streams and should be used with caution.

A natural resources technical memorandum developed by URS Corporation and recently released during the course of this assessment provides more detailed observations of stream channel conditions for some of the individual reaches and tributaries in both Rock and Richardson Creek (Wolfe, K. et al, 1999, pgs. 5–9).

Information gaps

The expected historic width and character of riparian vegetation correlated to Channel Habitat Types is unknown.
Actual substrate expected for each CHT is lacking.
Accuracy of CHT mapping is unknown.

Recommendations

Field verification of CHT map, including substrate sampling.
Research or analysis of historic riparian zone width for each CHT in these watersheds. (Note: it is possible that other watershed assessments in the State may have accomplished this already.)

¹ See OWEB Watershed Manual, Appendix III-A Description of Channel Habitat Types (WPN, 1999)