The Highway 43 culvert blocks fish passage about a quarter mile upstream from Tryon Creek’s confluence with the Willamette River. Efforts have been underway for over two decades to replace this culvert, a complicated and expensive project. Despite this culvert restricting fish access to the watershed, the Tryon Creek watershed supports a healthy coastal cutthroat trout population, and the lower portion of the creek below the Hwy 43 culvert -the confluence habitat- provides a cool water refuge for native fish off the Willamette River, including Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and Steelhead trout. Tryon Creek is 12 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the Willamette River in the summertime. This confluence provides important stepping stone habitat for native migratory fish who move through the Willamette River Basin.
Read the latest updates about the project on the City of Portland’s website, watch this video (from 2017!) to learn more about the importance of replacing this culvert, and read the Lower Willamette River Environmental Dredging and Ecosystem Restoration Project Fact Sheet for big-picture context.
Below, view some footage on-the-ground of the culvert itself: