Local Watersheds Win $3.5 Million for Salmon Habitat Conservation

2004 Archived News

Three projects in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed received over $1.4 million from the Board and three projects in the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed received a total of $1.4 million. One project in the Snoqualmie Watershed received $700,000.

The watersheds stretch from the Cascade crest west to the shorelines of Puget Sound and from Federal Way north to Mukilteo. They are home to one-third of the state’s population. The watersheds also are home to hundreds of land and water species, including Chinook salmon, listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. Sockeye and coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and steelhead are among the other fish that depend on the freshwater and saltwater habitats in these watersheds.

The projects funded include three in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed:

• Cedar Rapids Floodplain Restoration - $708,907: Restore 1,850 feet of shoreline and floodplain habitat along a stretch of the Cedar River east of Renton. Project work will include removing levees and bank armoring; restoring the river's channel, gravel bar, and pool habitats; reconnecting the river to floodplain and side-channel habitats; anchoring floating logs to reduce the swiftness of the river near the bank; depositing spawning gravel; removing invasive plant species from the river banks and from seven acres of the floodplain; and replanting the area with native trees and shrubs. King County will match this grant with $150,000 in equipment, labor and materials and donated labor.
• Cedar River Habitat Acquisitions - $367,264: Purchase nearly 28 acres along the Cedar River that includes over 4,000 feet of river frontage. This site, in unincorporated King County, is part of a larger, 220-acre reach and is the biggest remaining, unprotected river frontage in the reach. King County will match this grant with $64,811.
• Rainier Beach Shoreline Restoration - $350,000: Restore 700 feet of Rainier Beach shoreline on Lake Washington by removing bank armoring, grading the bank, removing debris and converting a defunct marina into prime shallow water habitat. Juvenile Chinook salmon depend on Lake Washington for both rearing and migration and need shallow-water habitat to escape from predators. The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department will match this grant with $100,000.

Three other awards went to the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed:

• Seahurst Seawall Removal in Burien - $190,500: Restore the southern portion of the Seahurst Park shoreline, which provides marine “nearshore” habitat used by juvenile salmon after they leave freshwater. The project includes removing shoreline armoring and restoring natural beach slopes to allow natural habitat processes of erosion and sediment movement to occur. The Army Corps of Engineers will match this grant with $707,000 and the City of Burien will contribute $190,500.
  
• Piner Point Acquisition on Maury Island - $400,000: Purchase of six acres at the southwest corner of Maury Island, including a quarter of a mile of natural shoreline. This acquisition will help protect marine “nearshore” habitat created by natural beaches and naturally-eroding bluffs. King County will match this grant with $70,000.
  
• Newaukum Creek Restoration - $788,581: Restore the lower 1,800 feet of Newaukum Creek, which drains the Enumclaw Plateau and empties into the Green River east of Auburn. Restoration will include reconstructing a historic meander, setting back a berm, naturalizing a restored floodplain area, placing several engineered large woody debris jams in the channel and floodplain, and planting and supplementing the streamside buffer. King County will match this grant with $75,000 and the King Conservation District also will provide a match of $75,000.

One project was funded in the Snoqualmie Watershed:

• Lower Tolt River Floodplain Reconnection Construction - $700,000: Restore active floodplain habitat in the lower half mile of the Tolt River by setting back levees and allowing the river to naturally meander. This site provides important spawning and rearing habitat for Chinook salmon. King County and Seattle Public Utilities will raise $1.3 million in additional capital and grant funding.
  

These local projects vied with proposals from across the state in a rigorous evaluation process intended to identify the most effective and scientifically-sound projects statewide. Across the state, the SRFB allocated $26.7 million for 103 habitat acquisition, restoration, and assessment projects. Funding from the Board comes from the federal and state governments.

Before being sent to the state Board for review, the project sponsors first had to present the proposals to local science panels and Steering Committees in each watershed. The Steering Committees are citizen-stakeholder groups that include local governments, environmental and business groups, and federal and state agencies. The Steering Committees evaluated the proposals in terms of their benefit to salmon, certainty of success, and level of community support. The SRFB considers the local evaluation along with its own technical analysis when making its funding decisions.

For more information on salmon habitat conservation in the three watersheds, visit our Web page.