As bewildered cows in a nearby pasture watched their every move, two backhoes piled rocks on either side of Honeyman Creek in Scappoose where a failed culvert had been removed to make way for a new bridge.

The Scappoose Bay Watershed Council has been working with the owners of the Malarkey Ranch for the last week to open up three different spots on the creek, freeing them from old, rotten culverts and setting bridges in their place.

The project seeks to restore 54 acres of wetland habitat by allowing free tidal flow back and forth across the property. The installation of 40-foot-long steel bridges will also open up some excellent habitat for young salmon, said Watershed Council Coordinator Janelle St. Pierre.

This particular part of Honeyman Creek runs around seasonal pastures and old oak trees. It is a perfect spot for young fish as they rest and bulk up for rougher river and ocean journeys, St. Pierre said.

“Culverts just aren’t that friendly,” said Sharon Malarkey, who owns and operates the ranch with her husband. She said it has been a goal of theirs to gradually replace culverts on their property with bridges, making the land more accessible by tractors and other vehicles.

Working with the Watershed Council has the added benefit of simplifying the permitting process, she said.

Thanks to the extra space created by removing the culverts, the small creek has already started to push back towards its more traditional channels, away from the ones it carved out when the culverts forced it to change course.

“It’ll be interesting to see how nature adjusts itself,” St. Pierre said.

Honeyman Creek winds through the Malarkey Ranch, eventually spilling into the Scappoose Bay’s bottomlands. The area typically floods during the winter, burying sections of Fullerton Road and the surrounding pastureland under water.

The project is paid in part through a grant from the Bonneville Power Administration and the financial support of the property owners.