From Sawmill to River Restoration
The Linnton Mill Restoration Project transforms a stretch of the Willamette River.
The Linnton Mill Restoration Project was developed in coordination with the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council to offset impacts from over a century of industrial use along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The Project created off-channel habitat and restored riparian and upland forests to benefit salmonids, Pacific lamprey, bald eagles, osprey, and mink, as well as other wildlife.
Mitigation Credits
Linnton Mitigation Bank Service Area
This Project serves as a dual-credit mitigation bank with credits (DSAYs) that can be used to offset Natural Resource Damages (NRD) impacts as well as impacts to wetlands and waters under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, and Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) Removal-Fill Law.
The bank also offers credits that will satisfy the City of Portland's cut/fill requirements for floodplain development. These credits offset fill between both the 100-year and 1996 flood elevation prisms.
For additional information about credits please contact Kari Dupler at (510) 946-7521 or KariD@RestorCap.com.
Industrialization along the Willamette River
Sawmills, smelting plants, and manufacturing joined Linnton to the industrial revolution growing along the Willamette River in the late 1800s. Starting in the 1840s, pilings and docks were installed along this 11-mile stretch of river between the Columbia River and Broadway Bridge to service warehouses and port facilities. By the 1920s, the banks of the Willamette River through Portland were transformed by industrialization, and the channel was narrowed, straightened, and deepened to service the busy port.
Development of the Willamette also meant that sloughs and wetlands were filled, and irrigation ditches were dug to provide water for crops. These ditches also returned sewage and chemicals to the river. The growing post-war economy was a boon for development within Portland, but also brought more industrial pollution to the river. Several cleanup attempts identified pipes that discharged sewage and industrial wastes directly into the river, and made efforts to eliminate these sources of pollution.
Clark and Wilson Lumber Mill
Development of the Linnton Mill Site
The Clark and Wilson Lumber Company (C&W) was established in 1906 by O.M. Clark and family. This site was dotted with sawmills, a planing mill, drying kilns, and extensive wharves and lumber piles. The original mill building was destroyed in a fire in 1947. The Linnton Plywood Association took over the C&W facility in the early 1950's and operated in the two large buildings originally built as drying sheds for the C&W mill. Several major additions were constructed to expand the facility and serve other functions during operations.
Lumber mills in the area were able to take advantage of cost-effective local raw materials to build high-strength building materials such as plywood and other wood composite products. By 1970, the Linnton Plywood Association had the capacity to produce 7 million board feet of plywood and V-groove boards. By the early 1980s, the timber industry was undergoing major changes. An economic recession in the early 1980s drove a lot of mills out of business, those that survived adopted automation, which led to a decline in jobs. Exports of raw logs overseas further contributed to the loss of mill jobs and the decline of small mills. The Linnton mill ceased operations in December 2001.
SCENES FROM A PLYWOOD FACTORY
The making of plywood from the early Clark and Wilson Lumber Mill to the Linnton Plywood Association factory.
The mill complex was designed to process timber from start to finish, gathering logs from the river, removing bark, cutting veneer on lathes, drying the veneer Sheets, gluing the veneer together, pressing the layers, and trimming to produce the final plywood product. The layout of the complex reflects this process, with uncut logs leaving the river via the log transfer and continuing through machinery to remove bark and trim the lumber to a size and shape that the machinery could process.
Restoration: a new chapter for the river
The restoration included removal of several buildings, two docks, and 700 pilings to transform this area into a natural refuge. Construction of the site was completed in 2019.
A Natural Refuge
Flora and fauna abound at the Linnton Mill Restoration Site. Wildflowers were abundant this spring and some of the over 1,000 wapato bulbs planted by RestorCap in 2021 are starting to emerge. Mammals like deer, coyotes, and beaver are frequently spotted foraging on site. Other animals like river otter are hard to spot but leave their tracks in the sand along the river. Long-tailed weasels are the newest residents and use the wood and rock structures for cover. Other wildlife like treefrogs and killdeer use the floodplain wetlands for breeding and habitat. An eight spotted dragonfly was seen munching on a ladybug.
As part of the restoration for the Portland Harbor Superfund impacts, Linnton will continue to be managed and monitored to ensure the site meets restoration targets and performance standards.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about this project or other RestorCap projects.
For additional information regarding mitigation credits please contact Kari Dupler at (510) 946-7521 or KariD@RestorCap.com.
