King County watersheds share $1.5 million in state funds for salmon habitat protection, restoration

Habitat for salmon and other wildlife in King County’s four major watersheds will see added improvements thanks to grants from the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB).

Projects funded include floodplain restoration, levee setbacks, and restoring Puget Sound shoreline.

On Friday, the board awarded over $1.5 million for nine projects to protect and restore salmon habitat in King County.

“State funding is essential as we move forward with critical salmon restoration work and some of these resources will immediately be applied to on-the-ground restoration work employing people in our community ,” said King County Executive Ron Sims.

“Recovering our salmon populations in King County is the foundation for our efforts through the Puget Sound Partnership, as salmon are an essential part of the Sound’s food web,” Sims said.

The state funds will be matched by funds from cities, King County, the Puyallup Tribe, the King Conservation District, and federal grants.

Three projects in the Snoqualmie Watershed received $533,630.

Two projects in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed received $481,507.

Two projects in the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed received a total of $363,725.

Two projects in the White River Watershed received a total of $220,000.

The four watersheds stretch from the Cascade crest west to the shorelines of Puget Sound, and are home to Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Sockeye and coho salmon and cutthroat trout also depend on the freshwater and saltwater habitats in these watersheds. Restoring the health of these watersheds is a key part of the region’s efforts to protect and restore Puget Sound.

Local projects competed with proposals from across the state in a rigorous evaluation process intended to identify the most effective and scientifically-sound projects statewide. Local watershed groups reviewed and prioritized projects before sending funding requests to the state.

Statewide, more than $19.8 million was awarded for habitat acquisition, restoration and assessment projects. The funds came from both state and federal sources.

Here is a summary of the projects by watershed:

The Snoqualmie/South Fork Skykomish Watershed in northeastern King County received grant awards for three projects:

• Tolt River San Souci Reach Acquisition - $300,000 The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks will purchase 15 privately-owned properties in an active channel migration zone of the Tolt River, adding to over 47 acres already in public ownership. Acquisition of these remaining properties will allow plans to begin for reconnecting two floodplain side channels in the area, which would provide important rearing habitat for the 20% of the Snoqualmie Chinook stock that spawns in the lower 6 miles of the Tolt River. King County will provide $434,000 in local match to the project.
  
• Chinook Bend - $174,340 King County will restore floodplain habitat along the Snoqualmie River by removing a levee that prevents the river from accessing its floodplain on the Chinook Bend Natural Area. This project will remove 1700 feet of levee and 3000 feet of revetment (armored shorebank) allowing the river to migrate and restore natural processes. The project also includes placement of large diameter cottonwood stakes in strategic locations in the floodplain to create areas that slow river flow and add floodplain complexity. King County has already completed nearly 30 acres of native plantings at the site over the past 10 years.
  
• Snohomish Basin Water Type Assessment and Prioritization Project - $59,290 The Wild Fish Conservancy will perform stream surveys in approximately 150 streams in priority basins within the Snohomish Basin. Most of the streams to be surveyed are in the King County portion of the watershed. The survey will provide information about fish presence and stream habitat. The results will be made available to all agencies and tribes. In addition, ten future restoration/ protection opportunities with the highest likelihood of salmon benefit will be identified and prioritized.

The Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed received grant awards for two projects:

• Lower Cedar River Acquisition -- $331,507 King County will use this grant to purchase up to 10 acres of Lower Cedar River floodplain habitat in the high priority Belmondo Reach. The Lower Cedar River floodplain has been extensively modified by levees that isolate the river from key floodplain habitat. In the future, extensive restoration of this reach will reconnect the river with its floodplain creating significant Chinook salmon spawning and juvenile rearing habitat, as well as improving natural river processes, water quality, and wildlife habitat.
  
• Beach Nourishment Project -- $150,000 King County will use this grant for a feasibility study and initial design of four Puget Sound beach nourishment projects in the marine nearshore from Seattle to Mukilteo. Beach nourishment consists of building up or recreating beaches that have eroded away. Rock bulkheads, built for the railroad along the shoreline, have filled large portions of the intertidal zone, greatly reducing the amount and quality of the shallow water habitat for salmon rearing and feeding. Additionally, the railroad acts as a barrier between almost all of the upland bluffs that historically fed sediment to the beaches. Beach nourishment is one of the few options left to improve marine habitat in this watershed.

The Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed in southern King County received grant awards for three projects:

• Restoring the Pautzke Levee Area -- $213,725 The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks will use this grant to remove two segments of the Pautzke Levee along the Green River, just east of Auburn. When complete, 20 acres of the Green River floodplain and more than half a mile of riverbank and channel will be allowed to return to natural water processes, significantly enhancing salmon habitat. The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks will contribute $887,000, including funds from the King Conservation District.
  
• Designing the Downey Farmstead Restoration Project -- $150,000 Kent will use this grant to study and begin design of a project to restore habitat along the Green River at the Downey farmstead site between Kent-Des Moines Road and the Green River. The study will determine the feasibility of connecting a side channel to the mainstem of the Green River. The study also will analyze how the south bank of the Green River can be reshaped and restored to improve fish habitat throughout this reach. The project also will create a more functional floodplain, complete with side channels that provide habitat for Chinook and other salmon. Later phases of the restoration will include removal of invasive plants, replanting the area with native species and installing wood debris to increase the types of habitat in the river.

The White River Watershed in southern King County received grant awards for two projects:

• Boise Creek Fish Passage - $95,000 The Puyallup Tribe of Indians will use this grant to design and engineer two projects -- one to relocate Boise Creek to its historic channel within the Enumclaw Golf Course and one to provide fish passage above Boise Creek Falls. Relocating the channel will provide shade, better cover and other habitat benefits, and will reduce human disturbance to spawning fish. The fish passage project will open more than one mile of habitat, increasing spawning habitat in the creek by 20 percent. The newly opened segment will offer better overall habitat than areas downstream because it is in a forest. The tribe will contribute $25,000.
  
• TransCanada Levee Setback - $125,000 The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks will use this grant to evaluate and design a habitat restoration project in the lower White River. The project will modify an existing levee to provide habitat for juvenile salmon, particularly White River steelhead and spring Chinook, the most genetically distinctive stock in central and south Puget Sound. The project will focus on reestablishing natural river processes such as side channels. Such slow water habitats are essential for early rearing and are virtually non-existent in this reach of the White River. This grant covers the study, evaluation and analysis of options, and a permit-ready design for the restoration. King County will contribute $50,000 in donated labor.

For more information on salmon habitat conservation in the watersheds, visit http://www.govlink.org/watersheds/.

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Contacts:
Perry Falcone, Snoqualmie/South Fork Skykomish Watershed, 206-296-1940
Jean White, Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed, 206-263-6458
Doug Osterman, Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed, 206-296-8069
Jessica Saavedra, King Conservation District, 425-277-5581 ext. 117