RESTORING FLOODPLAINS ALONG THE CEDAR RIVER · November 2016 N 520 522 522 527 5 5 405 405 405 90...
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1611_7036m_WRIA8ProjectsINprogress-2.indd Partners in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8) have made important progress implementing priority salmon habitat restoration and protection projects outlined in the WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan. Looking ahead to the next ten years, much work remains for us to achieve our salmon recovery goals. In this urbanized and populous watershed, salmon recovery projects are often complex and involve many steps with multiple partners, but they also often achieve multiple benefits. Several key projects are underway; the following works in progress need our continued commitment to complete. RESTORING FLOODPLAINS ALONG THE CEDAR RIVER • In 2013, King County bought the 18-acre Riverbend Mobile Home Park for nearly $7 million to remove people from an area at risk of flooding and channel migration. • The Riverbend purchase connects the Cavanaugh Pond and Ricardi Natural Areas, completing five miles of public ownership along the Cedar. • In addition to removing people from harm’s way, acquiring this land will allow for reconnecting the river to the floodplain. This type of restoration is the highest priority for salmon recovery on the Cedar River. • King County is currently in the design process to set back and remove existing flood control levees and facilitate future restoration. Contact: Tom Beavers at 206-477-4743 or [email protected] RECONNECTING A TIDAL MARSH IN EDMONDS • Daylighting the Willow Creek outlet of Edmonds Marsh to Puget Sound will restore tidal inflow to the largest remaining salt marsh along the WRIA 8 nearshore, providing juvenile Chinook salmon access to 28 acres of important rearing habitat. • Restored tidal access will benefit other wildlife, help control invasive species, improve water quality, and reduce risks from projected sea level rise. • Railroad trestles are already in place for the daylighted channel to pass under the BNSF rail lines, eliminating a major barrier, cost, and source of uncertainty. • The City of Edmonds is currently designing the project and working with stakeholders on the future vision for the daylighted channel. Contact: Robert Edwards at 425-771-0220 or [email protected] or Keeley O’Connell, 360-220-5544 or [email protected] Continuing our commitment: Advancing habitat projects in WRIA 8
Transcript of RESTORING FLOODPLAINS ALONG THE CEDAR RIVER · November 2016 N 520 522 522 527 5 5 405 405 405 90...
1611_7036m_WRIA8ProjectsINprogress-2.indd
Partners in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8) have made important progress implementing priority salmon habitat restoration and protection projects outlined in the WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan. Looking ahead to the next ten years, much work remains for us to achieve our salmon recovery goals. In this urbanized and populous watershed, salmon recovery projects are often complex and involve many steps with multiple partners, but they also often achieve multiple benefits. Several key projects are underway; the following works in progress need our continued commitment to complete.
RESTORING FLOODPLAINS ALONG THE CEDAR RIVER • In 2013, King County bought the 18-acre Riverbend Mobile Home
Park for nearly $7 million to remove people from an area at risk of flooding and channel migration.
• The Riverbend purchase connects the Cavanaugh Pond and Ricardi Natural Areas, completing five miles of public ownership along the Cedar.
• In addition to removing people from harm’s way, acquiring this land will allow for reconnecting the river to the floodplain. This type of restoration is the highest priority for salmon recovery on the Cedar River.
• King County is currently in the design process to set back and remove existing flood control levees and facilitate future restoration.
Contact: Tom Beavers at 206-477-4743 or [email protected]
RECONNECTING A TIDAL MARSH IN EDMONDS • Daylighting the Willow Creek outlet of Edmonds Marsh to Puget
Sound will restore tidal inflow to the largest remaining salt marsh along the WRIA 8 nearshore, providing juvenile Chinook salmon access to 28 acres of important rearing habitat.
• Restored tidal access will benefit other wildlife, help control invasive species, improve water quality, and reduce risks from projected sea level rise.
• Railroad trestles are already in place for the daylighted channel to pass under the BNSF rail lines, eliminating a major barrier, cost, and source of uncertainty.
• The City of Edmonds is currently designing the project and working with stakeholders on the future vision for the daylighted channel.
Contact: Robert Edwards at 425-771-0220 or [email protected] or Keeley O’Connell, 360-220-5544 or [email protected]
Continuing our commitment: Advancing habitat projects in WRIA 8
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Restoring the Lakeshore Delta and Floodplain of an Urban Stream• Between 2002 and
2015, Seattle Public Utilities purchased seven properties along lower Taylor Creek and Lake Washington to rehabilitate stream, floodplain, lakeshore delta, and lakeshore habitat.
• Restoring natural processes in the lower Taylor Creek system will benefit Cedar River Chinook salmon fry
seeking refuge in shallow creek mouths as they migrate along the Lake Washington shoreline on their way to Puget Sound.
• Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Parks have been working to create a series of “rest stops” for juvenile Chinook along the Lake Washington shoreline. When finished, the Taylor Creek project will complete the list of nine targeted sites.
• A new fish passable culvert will be installed under Rainier Avenue South allowing fish to go further into the creek basin.
• Seattle Public Utilities is currently designing the project and expects to begin construction in mid-2019.
Contact: Rick Johnson at 206-233-7861 or [email protected].
Enhancing the Transition from Lake Sammamish to the Sammamish River• The Sammamish River is a key migratory
corridor for Chinook salmon, but historical modifications to the river simplified and degraded habitat. The river also experiences high summer water temperatures that stress—and sometimes kill—adult salmon heading upstream to spawn.
• The Willowmoor Floodplain Restoration Project seeks to enhance the portion of the Sammamish River just downstream from Lake Sammamish by reconnecting the river with up to 40 acres of floodplain on the left bank, improving conditions for salmon in the
river’s mainstem, enhancing riparian vegetation, and reducing flood risk and long-term operations and maintenance costs at the site.
• Taken as a whole, the restoration activities proposed will not only improve physical habitat for adult and juvenile Chinook, but will also benefit water quality (specifically by lowering water temperatures).
• King County and the City of Redmond are partnering on the project, which is currently in design.
Contact: Kate Akyuz at 206-477-4607 or [email protected].
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Restoring a Pocket Estuary to Improve Rearing Conditions along the Shoreline
• The majority of WRIA 8’s marine shoreline is armored by large rock, which protects the BNSF rail line but also limits shoreline processes beneficial to juvenile salmon.
• Snohomish County seeks to restore natural shoreline processes at Meadowdale Beach north of Edmonds. Lund’s Gulch Creek enters Puget Sound here through an undersized culvert under the railroad, which the County intends to replace with a bridge.
• The proposed project will create up to an acre of tidal marsh pocket estuary, restore sediment delivery to the nearshore to enhance delta formation, and improve the lower part of the creek. Juvenile Chinook and other salmon species migrating along the shoreline use this habitat for resting and feeding.
• Snohomish County is currently in the early design stage of the project. Successful project implementation here could serve as a model for other areas along the BNSF rail corridor.
Contact: Logan Daniels at 425-388-6619 or [email protected].
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Priority Tiers
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River
Stream
Major road
Lake
Incorporated area
0 2 4 6 Miles
November 2016
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Protecting Undeveloped Habitat along the Sammamish River• The Wayne Golf Course is an 89-acre property in the City of
Bothell, bisected by the Sammamish River. A development proposal threatened to build houses on nearly half the acreage, but partners acted quickly to acquire and protect the area.
• Acquiring the golf course prevents further degradation of habitat and provides space for floodplain and riparian restoration benefitting Chinook salmon migrating through the site.
• In addition to its importance for fish, the property provides valuable public passive recreation and educational opportunities.
• The City of Bothell, Forterra, and King County are working together to acquire the funds needed to protect the full property in perpetuity. Some money has been secured, but significant additional dollars are needed to protect the full site.
Contact: Liz Johnston at 206-905-6925 or [email protected] or John Keates at 425-806-6751 or [email protected]
Trees for Streams –Controlling Invasive Plants and Restoring Riparian Forests• For several years, WRIA 8 partners have been removing invasive vegetation and restoring riparian areas
throughout river and stream corridors, including extensive work with private property owners. This work benefits water quality by preventing bank erosion and maintaining cool water temperatures; it also provides a future source of large wood.
• In 2008, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust partnered with King County to survey knotweed and policemen’s helmet over the entire mainstem of Issaquah Creek and its tributaries. The Greenway Trust treated more than 100 acres of knotweed on public and private lands, including more than 163 private properties.
• Cedar River Stewardship-in-Action (SiA) is a partnership between Seattle Public Utilities, Forterra, and King County. Knotweed control work on the Cedar began in 2007, and the SiA partnership was formalized in 2010 to control invasive plants and replant the riparian corridor, with a specific focus on educating landowners to become streamside stewards. To date, approximately 85% of the pre-treatment extent of knotweed has been controlled, accompanied by numerous plantings of native plants on private properties.
• Forterra has started convening partners for a corridor-scale approach to invasive plant treatment and revegetation along Bear Creek. This initially involved landowner outreach and a basin-wide noxious weed survey. Knotweed treatment along Bear Creek will start in the summer of 2017, with the first private property planting by early 2017. Establishing this program on Bear Creek will mean comprehensive invasive treatment and riparian restoration along all Tier 1 spawning streams in WRIA 8.
Contact: Cyndy Holtz, Seattle Public Utilities at [email protected] or 206-386-1990, Judy Blanco, Forterra at [email protected] or 206-292-5907, and Lisa Nelson, Mountains to Sound Greenway, at [email protected] or 206-382-5565.
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