Quileute Natural Resources continues restoration of the Quillayute River to benefit salmon
Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 5, 2026
Quileute Natural Resources (QNR) is continuing restoration of the Quillayute River with in-river construction work planned for the Historic Oxbow Reactivation and Restoration Project (Oxbow Project), anticipated to begin this summer. The Oxbow Project is part of a long-term restoration effort to reduce flood risk and improve salmon returns by reconnecting floodplains and restoring habitat in the Quillayute River.
Planning for the Oxbow Project began in 2021, and QNR is gearing up for construction of the project’s primary elements, anticipated for Summer–Fall 2026. QNR will be excavating the inlet and outlet of a historic oxbow meander bend on the south side of the Quillayute River just upstream from Richwine Bar. Construction will not affect public access to the main channel of the Quillayute River.
The project will reconnect more than two miles of side-channel salmon habitat and more than 100 acres of historic floodplain to the river at high flows. QNR will also be installing engineered log jams on the south bank of the river and throughout the Oxbow to direct flows and improve salmon habitat. The locations for the engineered log jams were determined in consultation with the Quileute Tribe’s leadership and community members.
The Quillayute River historically featured connected side channels, floodplains, and wetlands that absorbed and dissipated floodwaters, reducing the potential hazards of major floods. The river also historically featured many log jams that slowed the flow of water and created ideal salmon habitat by providing cover from predators, shade to keep water cool, deep pools for resting spots, and abundant prey to eat.
Over the last 100 years, the Quillayute River’s main channel has disconnected from the floodplain and straightened below Three Rivers. The Oxbow bend was the main channel of the Quillayute River until 1967, when a flood event caused the river to jump to its current straightened channel. The floodplains and side channels of the Oxbow fully disconnected from the main channel, except during exceptionally high flows, in the 1980s.
Since then, the Quillayute River has incised and now has few habitat features, such as log jams, to support healthy salmon populations. Floodplain disconnection, like the Quillayute River has experienced, increases downstream flood risk because high flows have fewer opportunities to spread and slow. Since the Oxbow was cut off from the main channel, flooding and erosion have worsened on the Quileute Reservation and in La Push at the mouth of the Quillayute River.
After completion of the Oxbow Project in 2026, the reconnected Oxbow will divert some floodwater from the main channel during high-flow events, reducing the intensity of floodwaters as they travel downstream toward La Push.
In addition to reducing flood hazards, the Oxbow Project will provide important spawning and rearing habitat that benefit all salmon species by adding log jams to the riverbank and side channels. Side channel and floodplain habitat, like the Oxbow, are important for the growth of juvenile salmon due to the abundance of food and protection from predators. Research shows that juvenile salmon that rear in side channel and floodplain habitats grow faster and have better survival rates than those rearing in the main channel of a river.
The Oxbow Project is located on a mix of Quileute Reservation land and land managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Bureau of Land Management, and Ecotrust Forest Management.
QNR is working to engage the local community and landowners adjacent to the project. In 2025, QNR spoke at the Olympic Guides Association and met with community members at West End festivals, including Quileute Days and Fish N Brew in Forks, WA. QNR is planning additional open house and engagement events, with dates to be determined.
Comments can also be submitted via the QNR and BLM planning site: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2041462/510
For additional information, to contact QNR project managers, or to visit the project website, community members are encouraged to reach out directly to QNR.
