Water carries traces of everything that lives in it — including tiny fragments of DNA shed by fish, mussels, turtles, and other wildlife. By collecting and testing water samples, the LWC can detect the presence of key species without ever having to see or handle them directly.

In 2025, LWC expanded its long-running stream temperature monitoring network to also include eDNA testing, adding a new layer of insight into where species like Pacific lamprey, rainbow trout (including steelhead), coho salmon, Oregon floater mussels, western pearlshell mussels, western ridged mussels, and western pond turtles are present across the watershed. 

The maps below show 2025 eDNA results alongside historical data gathered in 2019, 2020, and 2022, collected by the LWC and the Bureau of Land Management. Please note that only a selection of streams within the watershed have been sampled to date — this is an evolving program, and LWC will continue adding new monitoring sites and streams in the coming years.

​As we continue our monitoring efforts this year and beyond, the results will help LWC track the health of our streams and guide future restoration priorities across the watershed.

2025 eDNA Monitoring Results

Click on each map below to open a larger image in a new window. You can then click on the larger image to zoom in further.

**Note: Coho salmon results will be added soon!

2025 eDNA sampling confirmed Pacific lamprey presence in Pedee Creek, Teal Creek and the Little Luckiamute River — continued signs of this important species in our watershed.

Rainbow trout — including both resident fish and migratory steelhead — turned up in 2025 eDNA samples from Little Luckiamute, Teal Creek, Pedee Creek and upper Luckiamute area, helping us understand where these fish are thriving.

Western pearlshell mussels were detected via eDNA in 2025 at several sites along the upper Luckiamute and Little Luckiamute river systems, indicating healthy freshwater mussel habitat in these areas.

2025 marked the first eDNA surveys for Oregon floater mussels in the watershed, with detections near the confluence of Ash Creek and the Willamette River, as well as South Fork Ash Creek. This is an exciting find and will help inform our restoration and outreach efforts along this urban waterway!

2025 sampling did not turn up western ridged mussel eDNA at any surveyed sites, consistent with historical results. LWC will continue monitoring new locations in 2026 and beyond as part of our ongoing effort to track this species.

No western pond turtle eDNA was detected at any 2025 sampling sites. LWC will keep expanding survey locations in 2026 and beyond to better understand where this species may be present in the watershed.

A special thanks goes to the Bureau of Land Management for their partnership in the LWC Monitoring Program and for sharing their eDNA data in the Luckiamute watershed from 2019, 2020, and 2022.

Want to Learn More about eDNA Monitoring?

The presentation below is by Brooke Penaluna, Research Fish Biologist and HJ Andrews Experimental Forest Lead Scientist with the USDA Aquatic Ecology Management Team. Brooke presented her research on eDNA to the Luckiamute Watershed Council's Project Review Committee on December 6, 2023, at the Monmouth Public Library. For more information about Brooke Penaluna and to get in touch with her, click here.