Westlake is proud to continue to partner with LKE Corporation on a number of projects focusing on environmental work including wildlife and watershed restoration.

As a subconsultant to LKE, Westlake is providing surveying services for the Steigerwald Reconnection Project. The $25 million dollar effort will reconfigure the existing Columbia River levee system and reduce flood risk. Nearly two miles of the existing levee will be removed, reconnecting over 960 acres of floodplain to the Columbia River – which has been cut off for decades. This will open up nearly 1,000 acres of habitat for migrating fish and allow fowl, wildlife, and native plants to flourish. While it’ll take several years to complete, it’s expected to create over 500 jobs and bring an estimated $67 million to the local economy. Visitors will benefit from increased parking capacity and longer trails.

Steigerwald isn’t the only notable restoration Westlake has worked on. In 2018, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and Parks and Recreation worked to restore nearly 75 acres of the Oaks Bottom Habitat. As a joint venture between LKE and K&E, Westlake worked as a subconsultant providing surveying services. A new and bigger culvert was installed underneath Springwater Trail, allowing for a better exchange of water between the refuge and river and allowing juvenile salmon access to the refuge to rest and find food. Other wildlife will greatly benefit from the work, including over 175 bird species, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals such as otters and beavers.

In 2013, Westlake provided construction surveying in support of the removal of the 750 foot Sandy River Delta Dam. The US Corps of Engineers initiated this project in order to restore river and riparian habitats utilized by salmon and other native species. Westlake provided surveying for a low-flow pilot channel to connect the Sandy and Columbia Rivers in order to provide yearlong access for juvenile salmon migration.

Other important projects Westlake has teamed with LKE on include LePage USACE John Day Lock and Dam in 2015 and Mount St. Helens Sediment Retention Structure in 2012. We are excited to play a part in the restoration and rehabilitation of our lands and look forward to working on these types of projects well into the future.