Aug. 20, 2008 Tolt River restoration project nears halfway mark as King County, Seattle improve habitat and park   Construction crews have reached a milestone in the project to restore the lower Tolt River to a more natural condition – work that will protect the popular campground in King County’s Tolt-MacDonald Park and help the future river reshape itself from its present condition as an unnaturally straight and shallow stream to a more natural and complex waterway.
 The last of the 316 wooden anchor log and rootwad piles – the architecture for one of the largest habitat restoration projects in the Snoqualmie watershed – have been installed for the year in the lower Tolt floodplain.
The City of Seattle and King County are wrapping up phase-one work on the two-phase Lower Tolt River Floodplain Restoration Project in the park, which is adjacent Carnation. Crews will complete this year’s work later in the fall by replanting the construction site with native vegetation. Second-phase work next year includes completing a new levee, removing the old degraded levee, constructing floodplain “islands,” building public access trails and new parking areas. The $6.4 million construction project is a collaborative effort between the City of Seattle and King County. The project is of regional significance to ongoing salmon-recovery efforts because nearly 20 percent of the Snoqualmie watershed’s threatened chinook salmon spawn in the Tolt River. The project is expected to be completed by December 2009. “This project means better conditions for the fish and wildlife that use the river, including chinook and coho salmon, and steelhead trout, and it also means a new flood control levee and new public amenities for the park users,” said Brent Lackey, who chairs the partnership group that includes agencies from King County and Seattle. “We want to thank the community for their continued support of this restoration project, and for their patience as the work has progressed,” added Bill Eckel, Office of Rural Resource Programs Manager for King County. “We have been very pleased with how smoothly the work has progressed this summer, while still giving visitors to Tolt-MacDonald Park the ability to enjoy all of the great features that this park has to offer,” said King County Parks Director Kevin Brown. Park information is available by calling 206-205-5434 or by visiting http://www.metrokc.gov/parks/parks/toltmacdonald.html. The restoration project has been shaped with the help of extensive public input. King County and Seattle have had several public meetings, presented information on the project at Carnation City Council and other venues, and have invited public comment at various stages during the project’s development. Information is available on the Lower Tolt River Floodplain Restoration Project Web site at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/cposa/tolt-restoration/project-schedule.htm. Information is also available by contacting Clint Loper, King County Water and Land Resources Division, at 206-296-8378, or Brent Lackey, Seattle Public Utilities, at 206-684-7890. Related Information Snoqualmie-Skykomish Watershed Flooding Services and Information King County Parks – Your Big Backyard King County Water and Land Resources Division
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