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News and Activities
Duwamish/Hamm Creek Estuary Restoration Project Signing Ceremony Date Posted: August 11, 1999 On May 18, 1999, project partners held a ceremony to commemorate completion of an agreement providing a 7.1-acre easement to King County along Hamm Creek, a tributary of the Duwamish River. This easement, purchased from Seattle City Light, will allow for the construction of a long-anticipated habitat restoration project, and ensures the permanent protection of the project area. Upper Hamm Creek is the focus of community stewardship activities that have resulted in the return of salmon to this urban stream. The current project will improve habitat in the lower portion of the Duwamish River and Hamm Creek. Currently, the lower reach of Hamm Creek is located in a roadside ditch, enters an underground storm water drainage system, then discharges into the Duwamish through a storm water outfall. Project plans call for ﾓdaylightingﾔ Hamm Creek into a new surface water channel that will include habitat features such as boulders, logs, and riparian vegetation. A new connection with the Duwamish is also included in project plans; this intertidal area will include saltmarsh and mudflat habitats. Nearly 2,000 linear feet of new channel and associated riparian habitat are being planned, as well as approximately 2 acres of estuarine intertidal habitat at the new stream mouth. In addition to connecting to upstream Hamm Creek restoration activities, the estuary project meshes with five other intertidal habitat projects along the Duwamish River in the immediate area. Funds for acquiring the conservation easement for the Hamm Creek site, as well as contributions toward project construction and post project monitoring were provided as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlement. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a major partner for the Hamm Creek project, providing additional construction funds through their section 1135 authority. The Corps and King County will oversee project construction, which is scheduled to begin in July 1999 and be completed early in the year 2000.
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