Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

An important focus of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians’ (CTSI) Natural Resources Department has been to acquire and restore lands within the Tribe’s ancestral territories. One of several current projects being undertaken is on the 120-acre Salamander site along Fivemile Creek feeding into Tahkenitch Lake on the Central Oregon Coast.  CTSI acquired the site in 2016 and started plans for restoration.

Restoration work at the Salamander Site, along Fivemile Creek feeding into Tahkenitch Lake on the Central Oregon Coast. Credit: Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

Nearly 100 years ago the property’s historic stream channel was moved into a single, straighter ditch to drain the land more quickly for agricultural purposes. In the last forty years, the property has become overgrown with the non-native reed canary grass and the ditched stream has only been providing limited habitat to fish, lamprey and mussels. The goal for the project is to regrade nearly the whole property, during three phases, to allow new stream channels to form naturally to increase the quantity and quality of the habitat. Most of Phase 2 was finished in the summer of 2024, except a small 17-acre portion slated to be excavated in 2025.

Elk, deer, shore birds, eagles, herons, song birds, and baby coho were using the Phase 2 site within hours of us flooding the new habitat. All species captured and removed from the project area by our USFS partners were placed upstream to allow them to re-enter the project area during the fall and winter seasons. When high flood waters filled the creek upstream of the project site in December the water passing across the currently barren ground of Phase 2 was very clean and clear due to the slow velocity which allowed for fine sediment to fall out of suspension and settle on the new marsh surface. Hopefully this site will evolve to once again be a place where native species can flourish and thrive.