In-river construction set this summer on Oxbow Project

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026

A project to reduce flood risk and improve salmon returns on the Quillayute River will continue this summer.

Quileute Natural Resources (QNR) will continue its restoration work on the river with in-river construction work planned for the Historic Oxbow Reactivation and Restoration Project (Oxbow Project), according to a news release.

Planning for the Oxbow Project began in 2021. QNR will construct the project’s primary elements this summer and fall.

“QNR will be excavating the inlet and outlet of a historic oxbow meander bend on the south side of the Quillayute River just upstream from Richwine Bar,” according to the news release. “Construction will not affect public access to the main channel of the Quillayute River.”

Through the project, more than 2 miles of side-channel salmon habitat will be reconnected with more than 100 acres of historic floodplain to the river at high flows.

“QNR will also be installing engineered log jams on the south bank of the river and throughout the Oxbow to direct flows and to improve salmon habitat,” the news release stated. “The locations for the engineered log jams were determined in consultation with the Quileute Tribe’s leadership and community members.”

Quileute Tribal members were not available for additional comments.

The Quillayute River historically featured connected side channels, floodplains and wetlands that absorbed and dissipated floodwaters, reducing the potential hazards of major floods, according to the news release. The river also historically featured log jams that slowed the flow of water and created ideal salmon habitat by providing cover from predators, shade to keep cool, deep pools for resting spots and abundant prey.

“Over the last 100 years, the Quillayute River’s main channel has disconnected from the floodplain and straightened below Three Rivers,” the news release stated. “The Oxbow bend was the main channel of the Quillayute River until 1967, when a flood event caused the river to jump to its current straightened channel. The floodplains and side channels of the Oxbow fully disconnected from the main channel, except during exceptionally high flows, in the 1980s.”

That has led to fewer habitat features available for salmon populations. Downstream flood risk also has increased.

“Since the Oxbow was cut off from the main channel, flooding and erosion have worsened on the Quileute Reservation and in the town of La Push at the mouth of the Quillayute River,” the news release stated.

Completion of the Oxbow Project this year will divert some floodwater from the main channel during high-flow events, reducing the intensity of floodwaters.

“In addition to reducing flood hazards, the Oxbow Project will provide important spawning and rearing habitat that benefit all salmon species by adding log jams to the riverbank and side channels,” the news release stated. “Side channel and floodplain habitat, like the Oxbow, are important for the growth of juvenile salmon due to the abundance of food and protection from predators.”

The Oxbow Project is located on a mix of Quileute Reservation land and land managed by the state Department of Natural Resources, the Bureau of Land Management and Ecotrust Forest Management.