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Lower
Washougal Restoration Phase II
This proposal
represents phase II of the lower Washougal River
floodplain restoration project initially funded by SRFB
in 2004. The phase I project addressed in-stream channel
configuration and re-contoured the side slopes of a 10
acre gravel mining site for use by juvenile salmonids as
off-channel rearing habitat. The phase I project will be
75% complete by October 2006.
The current proposal will address in-stream complexity
and wetland/ riparian plantings that were not included
in the initial project proposal. The objectives for this
phase II proposal are to create one large log jam, add 5
boulder clusters, increase the complexity in the ponds
via woody debris placement placement and to re-vegetate
the perimeter of the off-channel ponds and wetlands.
These actions will increase the spawning and rearing
success of ESA listed chum, coho, chinook, steelhead and
cutthroat. Project partners include City of Camas,
Georgia-Pacific and Burlington Northern Railway.
Grays River Habitat Complexing
The Grays River LWD Habitat Complexing project will
restore in-stream habitat complexity necessary for
improving adult holding cover and for improving juvenile
rearing success in the highest priority reaches in the
Grays River basin. The objectives of this project will
be accomplished by placing LWD at two locations covering
.25 miles of stream channel. These locations were
identified using the LCFRB’s Six-Year Habitat Project
Schedule and field surveys by LCFEG staff. Salmon
species benefiting from increased in-stream complexity
include coho, chinook, chum and steelhead. This reach of
the Grays River is especially important for chum
spawning which is limited by sediment deposition and
channel instability.
This reach of the Grays River is characterized by lack
of pools, lack of in-stream complexity and high
depth-to-width ratios. These conditions are caused by
anthropological disturbances at the reach and watershed
scale. Lack of landowner participation currently
prohibits restoration of Channel Migration Zone (CMZ)
processes impacted by dikes at the reach scale and
chronic inputs of coarse sediment at the watershed scale
are being addressed through implementation of the new
Forest and Fish rules. This current proposal therefore
addresses only the lack of in-stream complexity at the
reach level which we believe is limiting productivity of
multiple species due to the lack of complex pools
necessary for successful rearing.
Washougal Reach 8
Restoration
This project addresses mainstem and tributary spawning
and rearing habitat on a 80 acre property in Reach 8 of
the Washougal River. The proposal objectives include
installation of one large logjam, five boulder clusters,
restoring access to > 4,000’ of tributary habitat,
creation of 3 acres of off-channel rearing habitat,
groundwater investigation and riparian plantings. This
reach is a high priority for coho salmon and a medium
priority for chinook and steelhead, all of which are ESA
listed as threatened.
This property has been the site of previous restoration
by LCFEG in partnership with Washington Trout and
Columbia Land Trust who completed a SRFB project on
Schoolhouse creek upstream of the proposed work site.
The previous projects acquired 26 acres of property,
restored fish passage, increased off-channel rearing and
spawning habitat. Schoolhouse Creek joins the Washougal
River on this property but is not the subject of this
restoration proposal. Instead, this proposal addresses mainstem habitat conditions and conditions in two
tributaries on the North side of the river. Project
partners include Gary and Dana Ostensen and WADNR.
South Fork Toutle
Restoration
The purpose of this project is to
provide fish habitat and stabilize 1,600’ of eroding
stream bank using bio-engineering techniques pioneered in the Washougal River in
2004 when we built our first wood debris collector. The current project is being
funded by a fish friendly developer. In three days
of flooding in November 2007 the river took 5-8 acres of land with a fine sediment volume far in
excess of 100,000 cubic yards. This volume of material not only destroys salmon redds and habitat, it also exacerbates the filling of the floodplain downstream
to the Columbia River and increases the likelihood of flooding in the Cowlitz
River. The purpose of this project is to install in-stream structures that are durable and
provide benefit to salmonids.
Little Washougal Riparian Planting III
The
Little Washougal River riparian restoration project will
restore approximately three acres and an estimated 1,600
lineal feet of stream bank by removing non-native
blackberry, canary grass and knotweed and planting
twenty five hundred native trees. This project also
addresses maintenance of the riparian efforts begun in
2004 to restore salmon habitat near Stauffer’s dairy
which is located in the highest priority reach in the
sub-basin.
Duncan Creek Restoration
Duncan Creek flows into the Columbia River at river mile
140.5, approximately 7 miles below Bonneville Dam near
the community of Skamania. This project will construct
improvements to the existing Duncan Creek spawning
channels, assess the habitat conditions and develop
conceptual designs for habitat restoration in the reach
from SR 14 to the mouth of Duncan Creek.
Built in 2001, the groundwater fed channels are often
dry during times of low flow creating access and egress
problems for chum salmon. One channel is dry most of
the time and not accessible to chum. The dam at the
mouth of Duncan Creek manipulates the lake water surface
elevation and creates passage problems for migrating
fish and eliminates and impacts over a thousand feet of
potential stream channel. The lake bed covers many acres
which have filled with fine sediments. The creek flows
in a shallow,
braided channel through the lake bed and the chum
spawning tributary connection also braids when it enters
the lake bed. Upstream of the lake and downstream of SR
14 the floodplain in constrained by roads, RR grades and
dikes. Habitat within this reach has degraded and needs
to be reconnected to the floodplain to provide spawning
and rearing opportunities.
These two areas are critical habitat for Chum & Coho
salmon and Steelhead and Cutthroat Trout because of the
location within the Duncan Creek watershed. The area
above this reach lacks stable spawning and rearing
habitat due to floodplain constriction.
Nutrient Enhancement Phase II
The goal of this project is to maximize the availability of
marine-derived nutrients (MDN) in the Kalama, Lower Lewis, East Fork Lewis and
Washougal River sub-basins. The need for nutrient enhancement using salmon
carcasses has been well established by numerous scientific studies that
highlight the importance of nutrient input to the aquatic ecosystem. Salmon
carcasses are the ideal delivery system for MDN as they decay slowly, provide a
direct carbon transfer to juvenile salmon rearing, and increase the food web
productivity at multiple trophic levels.
In conjunction with several partners including WDFW,
Clark-Skamania Fly Fishers, Fish First and the Kalama
Sportsman's Club several thousand salmon carcasses
per year will be placed into the Washougal, West Fork
Washougal, North Fork Lewis, East Fork Lewis and Kalama River
watersheds.
Lower Kalama Assessment
This project would first gather topographical, surface
water and groundwater elevation data at the site to
craft a conceptual plan with which the landowner and
interested stakeholders could evaluate restoration
options.
Data collected from potential project sites which offer
the highest potential for biological benefit to salmonid
species and compliment the Lower Columbia Salmon
Recovery Six-Year Habitat Work Schedule & Lead Entity
Habitat Strategy will be used to calculate and estimate
detailed construction budgets and conceptual designs for
restoration proposals seeking 2008 funding.
This project
is intended to benefit adult chum and coho salmon as
well as juvenile coho, steelhead, chinook and cutthroat
trout.
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