A summertime project that will improve conditions for wild salmon and nature lovers alike along the Snoqualmie River will mean temporary access restrictions at King County’s Chinook Bend Natural Area.
To ensure public safety, the county’s 59-acre natural area and a 2,000-foot-long stretch of the Snoqualmie River that borders it will be closed to the public during staging and construction, which begins June 22.
Located roughly two miles north of Carnation, Chinook Bend is bordered on three sides by the Snoqualmie River, which features the largest population of federally protected chinook salmon in King County.
Work this summer includes removing up to 1,500 feet of degraded levee so that the river can readily access portions of the land during moderate and high flows, which are typically seen during the winter months.
Crews will divert the river’s main flow away from the work area using a portable “water fence,” then use heavy equipment to remove the dirt and rock that forms the levee.
Because of this work, no boats, kayaks, inner tubes or any other watercraft will be allowed on a 2,000-foot-long stretch of the Snoqualmie River, beginning at the Stossel Bridge on Carnation Farm Road. The access restrictions are expected to last for about two months.
“Our goal is to make the Snoqualmie Chinook Bend Natural Area look and act more like it did decades ago, when seasonal floodwaters would move across the property and provide crucial side channel areas for fish and wildlife,” said Dan Eastman, Chinook Bend project manager with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ Water and Land Resources Division.
Restoring side channels and improving the river’s “complexity” is expected to directly benefit federally protected chinook salmon, which are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. Adult chinook use this stretch of water for spawning, while juvenile chinook live in the area before migrating downstream and out to sea.
“Side channels provide protection from fast-moving waters for juvenile salmon, and this project will create much-needed channel complexity along Chinook Bend,” Eastman said.
The existing level of flood protection for nearby roads and surrounding farmlands will be maintained, while public access and amenities at Chinook Bend will be improved as a result of the project, Eastman said.
The in-water work must be done during the summertime low-flow season on the Snoqualmie River before the fall rains and adult salmon return to spawn.
Temporary traffic delays, increased noise and high volumes of truck traffic are expected during construction. Flaggers will be on-site to direct traffic.
Project work scheduled for next year includes removing the downstream flood-control structure, known as a revetment, installing road protection for the Carnation Farm Road and adding new public amenities at Chinook Bend, including a new trail that is accessible to people with disabilities, interpretive signage, a viewing platform, public parking lot and restroom.
The Chinook Bend Natural Area was donated to King County by Nestle USA Corp. in 2000. The floodplain has been undergoing reforestation for the past nine years. Approximately 10,000 red alder, cottonwood, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir trees have been planted within the project area to restore the floodplain to a forested condition.
Additional species of trees have been planted in other portions of the property, while invasive vegetation, such as Japanese knotweed and reed canary grass is being removed.
Work to enhance Chinook Bend wetlands includes discharging reclaimed water from the Carnation wastewater treatment plant into the natural area’s wetland in the western portion of the site.
The Chinook Bend Habitat Restoration Project is funded by the King Conservation District, Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Amenities are funded by a grant from the state Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account program.
For more information, contact Mary Maier, King County, Snoqualmie Basin steward, at 206-296-1914 or mary.maier@kingcounty.gov, or visit the Chinook Bend Web site at http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/natural-lands/ecological/chinook-bend.aspx.
Related information
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks