A Phoenix, Oregon conservation group is working to officially name a local stream “Beaver Creek.” Save the Phoenix Wetlands has submitted an application to the Oregon Geographic Naming Board to recognize this waterway formed by six natural springs.
These springs were hidden beneath dense blackberry thickets until the devastating 2020 Almeda Fire swept through, inadvertently revealing their existence. Located west of Bear Creek Drive, they provide critical cold-water refuge for salmon and steelhead during hot summer months.
“What we look at is fish,” explained Frank Drake, assistant fish biologist for Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. “In the summer time, this is their thermal refuge.”
The Phoenix City Council recently endorsed the naming effort, which would be the group’s second success after Blue Heron Creek was officially recognized in 2023.
Summary Points:
- Save the Phoenix Wetlands group has applied to name a local stream “Beaver Creek”
- The springs were hidden by blackberries until revealed by the 2020 Almeda Fire
- Phoenix City Council has officially endorsed the naming effort
- The cold water provides crucial habitat for native fish during summer months
- The springs deliver about 45 gallons of water per minute year-round
- This would be the group’s second successful creek naming after Blue Heron Creek in 2023