The public and environmental agency stakeholders will gather next week to hear a City of Milwaukie update on the Kellogg For Coho Initiative (KFCI). Recent studies and funding opportunities will be shared at a project update meeting set for June 21, at 6:30 p.m., Lake Road Presbyterian Church, located at 2416 SE Lake Rd.
The City of Milwaukie is leading a broad-based effort to restore Kellogg Creek, which has been declared essential fish habitat for coho and Chinook salmon, along with other threatened and endangered species. Located in Milwaukie’s South Downtown, the project will remove the Kellogg Dam under McLoughlin Boulevard, drain Kellogg lake, neutralize any contaminated sediments, replant the banks with native vegetation, and establish a new stream channel to support listed salmon species. The project, estimated at $15 million, will also connect natural spaces with Milwaukie’s South Downtown revitalization area.
“We’re getting closer to finding a funding partner,” Director of Community Development and Public Works Kenny Asher said.
The project is being considered as a possible restoration effort under the natural resources damage assessment process associated with the Portland harbor superfund cleanup. Under that program, parties responsible for causing injuries to wildlife in the Portland harbor will need to cure those damages by improving habitat in the lower Willamette River. The KFCI is a candidate project under the program, and Asher says a funding partner could be identified later this year.
By restoring 14 acres of native wetlands in the former lakebed, the Kellogg-for-Coho-Initiative will complement riparian improvements that are already happening around Kellogg Lake as part of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project. That project will remove derelict piles from the lake and replant portions of the bank near the new light rail bridge, soon to be under construction. The city has also commissioned a sediment analysis study to better assess contamination levels in the lakebed.
