The Restoration of Wade Creek Wins Two Awards!

December, 2023

More award wins at Otak! We’re happy to share that this fall the Wade Creek Restoration project was the recipient of two awards!

Otak would like to thank the City of Estacada, Greenworks, and Pacific Habitat services for their partnerships on delivering this project to the benefit of the community of Clackamas County.

Read more about the project and the awards below!

What Were the Awards?

State Land Board Award – Stream Category

Led by Greenworks, the restoration of Wade Creek was at the heart of the city’s multi-year effort to address problems with the pond while also creating better connection with the surrounding community. Work included restoring the historic course of the creek to provide improved passage for salmon species throughout their life cycle, adding native plants along the bank to shade and cool the creek, and eliminating steep slopes to create a working floodplain.

The restoration project also added accessible walking trails and a boardwalk to the adjacent park and public library, an amphitheater and community gathering space, stormwater rain gardens, and a pollinator garden. Along with benefiting the environment surrounding the creek, these crucial additions and improvements to accessibility increased the area’s overall sense of community.

John Van Staveren of Pacific Habitat Services was integral to both the completion of the project and the submittal of the Land Board Award, so we would like to extend special thanks to him and the greater firm for all his work advocating for the project.

You can read the press release on the Land Board award win from the Oregon Department of State Lands here.

Oregon ASLA – Honor Award

Also submitted and led by our partners at Greenworks, architects tapped Wade Creek as a Project of Honor at the annual Oregon American Society of Landscape Architects awards banquet for the collaborative and environmentally conscious What method in which it was delivered..

Read more about Wade Creek on our project page, and we’re pleased to have worked on such a transformative and community-driven project.