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I li US Army Carps of Engineers o Portland Qistrict October 30, 1 X98 CONTACT: ' Therese Walch, City of Eugene Engineering Division, (541) 682-6839 Matt Rabe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (503) 808-4510 FOR IMMED)kATE RELEASE AGREEII~IENT SIGNED FOR LOWER AMAZON CREEK RESTORATION PROJECT Wetlands along lower Amazon Creek in west Eugene will be restored to a more natural condition under the terms of an agreement signed this week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the City of Eugene!: The agreement, signed by Eugene City Manager Jim Johnson and District Engineer Colonel Robert Stusar of the Corps, commits the City and the Corps to work cooperatively to construct the wetland restoration project under the authority of Section 1135 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. i)nder that act, structures or operations of existing Corps projects can be modified to restore environmental benefits. The Corps constructed the Amazon Creek Flood Control Channel in the 1950s to divert floodwaters from Eugene to Fern Ridge Lake. The project also is consistent with the goals of the West Eugene Wetland Plan. The project will encompass 398 acres of wetlands and uplands along 1.5 miles of Amazon Creek and two other jnajor drainage channels in the area bounded by Terry Street, Greenhill Road, Royal Avenue and the railroad tracks. The levees along Amazon Creek and the associated drainage channels will be moved; and the creek will be allowed to meander as it did historically. The adjacent wetland areas will be e~cposed to the high-frequency flooding that occurred naturally before the flood control channel was constructed. Native wet prairie wetland vegetation will be seeded and planted in the restored stream channels and in some of the adjacent wetland areas. (more) Pualic Works ~ Administration ~ City of Eugene ~ 858 Pearl Street ~ Eugene, OR 97401-2727 ~ Phone: (541) 682-5262 ~ FAX (541) 682-6826