Pudding River riparian restoration at Honeymoon Farm, Oregon

Background and Origins

When we searched for our forever home in 2021, we found something special along the Pudding River, just outside the charming historical town of Aurora, Oregon. The property, now known as Honeymoon Farm, had been a hay farm for a century, using timber from the property’s forests to build several beautiful outbuildings and barns. However, it was the walk along the riverbank that convinced us to call this place home. We felt drawn to the flow of the river, the forests tucked amongst its oxbow curves, and the open spaces where small remnants of native oak savanna still stood and robins sang at dusk. With more research and a couple of years observing the riverbank collapse into the stream during yearly flooding, we realized that we weren't the only ones dealing with the demise of the Pudding’s riverbanks, the loss of critical riparian habitat, and a degrading river ecosystem. We started conversations with neighboring landowners and conservation specialists. It quickly became clear that work at Honeymoon Farm would only be the start of what was necessary for a holistic, community-led, and enduring restoration effort of the Pudding River and its bioregion to succeed.

Problem Statement

The Pudding River is a vital 62-mile tributary in the Willamette Valley. It sustains the region's agricultural industry through vital irrigation and serves as a critical wildlife corridor for native cutthroat trout, spring Chinook salmon, winter steelhead and Pacific lamprey. The river faces significant water quality challenges due to heavy agricultural usage and urban runoff, with riverbanks and riparian areas suffering from high rates of erosion. Specifically, the section of river running through Honeymoon Farm has two areas of severe riverbank erosion, along with degraded or absent riparian river frontage. These conditions, along with others found in nearby properties, are what have led the Pudding River to be 303(d) listed under the Clean Water Act for excessive pesticides, bacteria and temperature, making it a key target for restoration work. 

The Organization and Mission

We started the Pudding River Oak Savanna Partnership in Restoration (PROSPR) in 2024 as a way to break ground on real world restoration work along the Pudding River. PROSPR's mission is to restore the lands along the Pudding River to native habitat for future generations of wildlife and people through scalable, on-the-ground restoration work paired with local education focused on bioregional ecosystem awareness, technical planning, fundraising support, resource collaboration, and community coordination. We want PROSPR’s restoration sites to be standout beacons for what is possible along the Pudding River so that our communities can once again enjoy this beautiful river and critical habitat corridor that sustains our bioregion. PROSPR has 501(c)(3) organization status as of 2024. 

The Site

Honeymoon Farm is the location of PROSPR's initial restoration work, targeting approximately 1.25 river miles and 85 acres of eroded river frontage and riparian areas, monoculture cropland, and degraded native oak savanna. This site also features an antique barn that serves as a gathering space for fundraising events, workshops, and coordination meetings between other Pudding River area projects, their funders, and supporters. 

Past Work and Partnerships

Phase 1 of work began in early 2025 with the restoration of two high-priority erosion sites along the river bank. This includes approximately a quarter mile and 3 acres of riverbank and its associated riparian areas. Restoration work completed in this area includes: mechanical removal of invasive Himalayan blackberry and hawthorn, planting of 1500 bareroot native plants with intermittent scalping, mulching, and mowing, and streambank stabilization using pole planting with beaver caging. Ongoing maintenance and monitoring of this area, as well as a second round of bareroot plantings, will continue into the first half of 2027. 

This work has received technical support and funding from the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District (CSWCD). A smaller grant was received through our partnership with the Pudding River Watershed Council (PRWC) and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), along with consultations to ensure effective restoration practices are followed.

Two community fundraising events were also held at the Honeymoon Farm antique barn in 2024 and 2025 to help bootstrap Phase 1 work, as well as to activate, educate, and update local stakeholders and community partners. These will continue happening regularly every year.

Future Work and Community Activation

With Phase 1 work proving to be a resounding success so far, we are looking toward the future with one main question in mind: how do we scale our impact? PROSPR is looking to accomplish this using a two-pronged approach, as follows.

First, we will drastically increase the land area to be restored, starting with our next phase of work at Honeymoon Farm. This next phase of work (Phase 2) will begin toward the end of 2026 and targets the remaining approximately 1 river mile and 11.5 acres of river frontage and associated riparian areas. The scope of work is similar in methodology to Phase 1, but covers a significantly larger area and will take us into 2030. We are proud to report that this phase of work has been ranked nationally by the USDA FSA's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which helps agricultural producers voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from production and implement long-term conservation practices. CREP offers cost-assistance up to 75% of the costs of most of this work, on a reimbursement basis. 

Second, we will host a series of community fundraising and education events at the Honeymoon Farm antique barn, with the next event planned for Fall 2026. This will target private and public landowners and businesses with properties adjacent to the Pudding River and whose cooperation and stake in the health of the river ecosystem are critical for restoration efforts to scale. The goal here is to activate the local community in and around Aurora township and educate on restoration funding opportunities, using PROSPR’s Honeymoon Farm site as a real-world example. Two key local partners we have begun networking with are Aurora Mills, who have their own river frontage greenspace project, and Metro’s newly acquired 109-acre Molalla Oaks, Prairies and Floodplains restoration site. Both of these are located downstream from Honeymoon Farm’s site and represent valuable potential partners in fostering a holistic, community-level land stewardship mentality in the region.

How Grant Funds Will Be Used

The scale of Phase 2 work will require 3+ years of work and upwards of $110,000, as budgeted by our advisors and partners at the CSWCD. Our project’s recognition by CREP will allow for 75% of these costs to be reimbursed as soon as plants go in the ground which, in our plan, doesn’t happen until year 2, with year 1 being site prep. This means that all up-front costs initially fall onto us, as well as 25% of the remaining project costs not covered by CREP. Things like replanting to account for seedling mortality are critical for project success as per our advisors, but not covered by CREP. Maintenance activities beyond year 1 are also not covered by the grant. This initial funding is a critical barrier to kickstarting Phase 2 work. Therefore, we will allocate 80% of any grant funding received to cover up-front costs of Phase 2 as well as the 25% of costs not covered by our CREP grant.

The other 20% of the awarded grant will be used to promote and host fundraising and community activation events at Honeymoon Farm, with the first being in Fall 2026. Promotion will be done via a targeted mailing campaign, expansion of our digital presence, and production of high quality marketing materials, especially video, something we sorely lack. All activities and events will be documented and shared on digital platforms, including Ma Earth and Restor.eco. 

Tracking Impact

The impact of our restoration work will be assessed qualitatively by PROSPR’s own quarterly in-field documentation by team members, as well as Keystone Habitat Services’ submitted progress updates that will include mortality rates of bareroot native plants, tracking of erosion mitigation progress, and other notable in-field observations. 

PROSPR’s progress will be more formally communicated during its annual Orchard Dinner fundraiser event at the Honeymoon Farm antique barn in Fall 2026. 

Additionally, the awarded funding from the CSWCD and the PRWC/OWEB grant for Phase 1, as well as the funding from CREP for Phase 2, are on a reimbursable basis, conditional on field visits and verification from the respective representatives. 

Finally, PROSPR will regularly update its Ma Earth profile page to keep donors and potential collaborators informed as to progress of restoration work and further community activities.

The Team

PROSPR is proudly composed of a board of directors and partners all residing within 30 miles of the Pudding River watershed.

Erik and Katie Larsen - Founders of PROSPR, with over a decade in non-profit work, community resilience development, and active Aurora community members.

Mallory O'Donnell and Val Mitsui - Restoration field specialists and project managers.

Kevin Machtelinckx - Mechanical engineer, regenerative agriculture entrepreneur and restoration advocate.

Andrew Robinson - Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecologist, habitat restoration expert, member of multiple local watershed councils, and co-owner of Keystone Habitat Services.