Four salmon habitat restoration projects in Thurston County were recently awarded a combined total of $1.08 million in state grants.
The grants are among the 75 announced this week by the Washington state Salmon Recovery Funding Board.
The combined total of all grants awarded is $21.5 million.
The goal of the grants is to restore habitat to help struggling salmon populations statewide. Salmon were first designated as at risk of extinction in Washington state in 1991, the Washington state Recreation and Conservation Office said in a news release.
Today, 14 populations of salmon and steelhead are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the news release.
“These grants are for projects to give salmon the clean, cold and plentiful water they need to survive,” said Jeff Breckel, chair of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. “We’re moving rivers, adding logs to streams to slow the water and create habitat and removing barriers so salmon can swim to the ocean and back. This work helps more than just salmon. More natural flowing rivers reduces flood risk to cities and towns. Rivers with slower water reduce erosion. And removing barriers to fish migration can also reduce the risk of roadways being flooded. Everyone benefits with these investments.”
Funding for the grants came from the board’s Salmon Recovery Program and its Riparian Grant Program, the federal Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and the state Climate Commitment Act.
“The grants awarded go through a rigorous screening process,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, which staffs the board. “They are prioritized by local communities, reviewed for scientific validity by local communities and the State and compete regionally for funding. This process ensures that the best and most likely-to-be-successful projects receive this important funding.”
The four projects in Thurston County that received grant funding are:
The Nisqually Land Trust will use this grant to control invasive plants and then replant
27.5 acres of the lower Powell Creek wetland. The creek provides important spawning
and rearing habitat for several salmon species. Crews will control invasive species across
the site, plant native shrubs on fifteen acres of wetland, plant native trees and shrubs in
a 2.5-acre pasture and a one-acre clearing, and plant conifers and big leaf maple trees in
the wetland buffer and between the wetland and the southern edge of the property.
This project builds on restoration projects recently completed downstream and on the
adjacent Nisqually floodplain. The creek is used by Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and
bull trout, all of which are species listed as threatened with extinction under the federal
Endangered Species Act; by coho salmon, which is a federal species of concern; by chum
and pink salmon, both of which are species warranted to be listed; and by cutthroat
trout.
The South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group will use this grant to place wood in
1.5 miles of the upper Deschutes River and in the lower quarter-mile of Thurston Creek.
Adding wood, such as tree root wads and logs, creates places for fish to rest, feed, and
hide from predators. It also slows the water, which reduces erosion and allows small
rocks to settle to the bottom, creating areas for salmon to spawn. Finally, it changes the
flow of the water, creating riffles and pools, which give salmon more varied habitat. The
river is used by steelhead trout, which is a species listed as threatened with extinction
under the federal Endangered Species Act; by coho salmon, which is a federal species of
concern; and by chum salmon, which is a species warranted to be listed.
The Thurston County Public Works Department will use this grant to study and pick the
best solution to restore fish passage where an unnamed Independence Creek tributary
crosses under Backman Road. The culvert pipe that carries the tributary under the road
is too high above the creek, limiting access to nearly five miles of upstream rearing and
spawning habitat. In addition, fine sediments are building up on both ends of the
culvert, as well as a large drop on the downstream end.
The Thurston Conservation District will use this grant to increase the water flow and
reduce summer temperatures in the Scatter Creek headwaters. Long ago, the creek’s
headwater wetland was drained for farming, and now the creek dries up in summer.
Crews will build beaver-dam-like structures in the eastern end of the wetland in Cozy
Valley to slow and spread the water over the valley bottom during wet months, improve
habitat, and raise the water table. Adding wood to the creek creates places for fish to
rest, feed, and hide. It also slows the water and helps small rocks to settle to the bottom
to form spawning areas. Crews will plant trees and shrubs in the pasture. These plants
will shade the creek to keep it cool for fish and drop branches and leaves that feed the insects that salmon eat. These improvements will support coho salmon, which recently
have been found in the valley. In addition, the nonprofit Heernett Foundation will host
field trips for the Tenino School District and the project will give students more handson learning opportunities.
