Noel Jones walks her dog Bodie on the Bear Creek Greenway near Lynn Newbry Park in Talent on Tuesday. Besides channel clearing in nearby Bear Creek, a new project will include stream bank work, enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and removal of noxious weeds in the Bear Creek River Mile 19.0 project.

A nearly two-mile section of the Bear Creek Greenway in Talent will be closed starting Monday while riparian restoration contractors work with heavy equipment to move logs along the bike path.

The section between Lynn Newbry Park and Wrangler’s Arena, roughly 1.9 miles, will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, Aug. 5-9, as part of a restoration project that started mid-July according to a release issued by the Rogue River Watershed Council and an earlier news report.

During the closure, pedestrian traffic on the bike path will be detoured to Highway 99.

According to an email from Community Engagement Project Manager Beth Boos, the closure is needed for pedestrian and crew safety because of the heavy equipment involved in a riparian-restoration project in the area, and the organization has begun distributing flyers alerting people using the Greenway ahead of the Monday closure.

A contractor will be moving logs to address fire-damaged floodplain along Bear Creek and restoring natural stream processes, according to the Rogue River Watershed Council’s website.

The closure may be lifted if work finishes early, or the Rogue River Watershed Council could use flaggers if work shifts to the opposite bank.

For the latest updates, see Facebook.com/RogueRiverWatershedCouncil or rogueriverwc.org.

Meanwhile, the Rogue Valley Council of Governments-Natural Resources Department conducted routine monthly water quality tests that indicate a portion of Bear Creek in Talent near Suncrest Road has exceeded state bacteria standards for contact recreation, including swimming and wading.

“Residents should use caution when in contact with any waterways, avoid ingestion, and prevent contact with open wounds. Very young children should be fully supervised to avoid swallowing water,” a release Friday said.

Other parts of the Rogue Valley also showed water quality concerns, including:

• Walker Creek near Dead Indian Memorial Road in Ashland

• Jackson Creek from West Ross Lane to Dean Creek Road in Jacksonville and Central Point

More information is available from RVCOG’s Natural Resources Department at rvcog.org/what-we-do/natural-resources, and Stream Smart’s Monitoring Water Quality in the Rogue Basin website at stream-smart.com/monitoring-water-quality-in-the-rogue-basin.

The portion of the Bear Creek Greenway in Talent between Lynn Newbry Park and Wranglers Arena will reopen at 6 p.m. Friday night, Aug, 9, and will re-close Monday morning for all of next week so riparian restoration work can continue. See previous coverage below.