Buffalo Flats Floodplain Restoration
The Buffalo Flats Floodplain Restoration project is located east and adjacent to the city of Union, Oregon
and within the Catherine Creek Watershed. The Project Area includes approximately 240 acres of the
historic floodplain of Catherine Creek and Little Creek as they enter the Grande Ronde Valley. The
proposed project area is in private ownership and has been in agricultural operations over the last
century. The project is currently in the initial planning and feasibility determination phase.
The combination of restoration actions will be designed to meet the following project goals:
- En
- 1. Enhance and restore aquatic habitat conditions and increase habitat diversity and
- complexity for salmonids;
- 2. Improve water quality conditions (temperature and sediment) for salmonids, other native fish, and wildlife;
- 3. Promote conditions for restoring ecological function and improving soil health within the project area;
- 4. Improve riparian corridor and floodplain vegetative diversity and function within the project area;
- 5. Reconnect both Catherine Creek and Little Creek with their associated floodplains and
- expand quality floodplain habitat availability for salmonids within the project boundaries;
- 6. Increase streambank and floodplain storage of water and ice; increasing the
- potential for attenuating flows and reducing ice formation within the project reach.
For more information, contact Jim Webster, USWCD.
Conservation Partners
This project is a partnership between Union Soil and Water Conservation District (USWCD),
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Grande Ronde Model Watershed (GRMW), and the primary
landowner, Buffalo Peak Land and Livestock. Additional team members inculde Trout Unlimited (TU), and
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).
Funding partners include Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Oregon Watershed Enhancement
Board (OWEB). The partnership is also collaborating with Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
and Union County Roads Department to explore options for changing and improving road alignments
within the project area.
The table below describes the expected activities for each design milestone by functional area (design,
funding, permitting, public outreach):
Project Design Milestones


Artists rendition of future conditions along lower Little Creek resulting from the Buffalo Flats Flooplain Restoration Project
Project Overview