Current Restoration Projects
The ultimate goal of all our habitat restoration work is to help in the recovery of salmon and steelhead by increasing their productivity. The "4 H's" of salmon recovery are hydro, harvest, habitat, and hatcheries. Here at LCFEG we focus on the habitat dimension. We disperse fish carcasses for nutrient enhancement in several local watersheds and are doing instream or riparian restoration in the South Fork Toutle, Coweeman, and Washougal Rivers and their tributaries. We're also correcting a fish passage barrier on Delameter Creek near the city of Castle Rock.
Coweeman, Nineteen, and Skipper Creek Restoration
This restoration project in Cowlitz County aims to restore natural processes and wood loading rates to 0.7 miles of the Coweeman River and 0.6 miles of tributary habitat.
SF Toutle at Johnson Creek Riparian Restoration
This is a riparian and floodplain enhancement project in the Johnson Creek reach of the South Fork Toutle River. We plan to install at least 40 floodplain roughness structures and 38,900 plants over nearly 46 acres.
SF Toutle Lower Brownell Reach Restoration
The project will address natural processes to benefit ESA-listed Chinook, coho, and steelhead as well as resident and anadromous lamprey, trout, and a dozen other coldwater fish species inventoried in the reach. This project will finalize the design to install instream and floodplain woody materials as well as jumpstart riparian and upland plant succession.
Little Washougal River
This project is a riparian improvement and outreach project funded by the Clark County Clean Water Restoration Fund. The goal is to work with local landowners to remove invasive species and plant native trees and shrubs along the Little Washougal to help mitigate the impacts of stormwater runoff. In partnership with the Watershed Alliance, we have planted more than 3,000 native plants.
Nutrient Enhancement
LCFEG staff and a team of volunteers worked with WDFW hatcheries and biologists to accomplish nutrient enhancement goals for the 2021/2022 season. More than 20,000 salmon carcasses were dispersed across four basins: East Fork Lewis, Kalama, Toutle, and Washougal.