Humans (well, most of us anyway) like things nice and tidy.  A century ago, wild rivers in the Oregon Coast Range must have seemed like an unruly mess to the average settler.  Giant, old-growth logs and root wads, beaver dams, oxbows, wetlands and skunk cabbage everywhere.  

But what looks good to humans, and what looks good to salmon, are two very different things. 

To young salmon, large woody debris means cover from predators, sheltered pools to escape strong winter currents, and cooler, cleaner water.

A century of poor logging practices means very few large logs and root wads (large woody debris) are finding their way into our rivers anymore.  Beavers, the symbol of Oregon (unless you are a Duck fan) were pushed close to extinction.  And there was a time when state and federal agencies encouraged the removal of logs from our rivers, based on the assumption that they were bad for salmon (an assumption that was wildly, 180 degrees, completely incorrect). 

The good news is that federal and state agencies, and a growing number of private businesses, are now working to restore streams in the Coast Range, and elsewhere, by putting large woody debris back into our rivers.  And their work is already paying dividends.

I recently came across an excellent presentation, saved to You Tube, from one such business.  If you ever wondered why biologists and salmon conservationists get excited about large woody debris, these videos are definitely worth checking out!