King County watersheds get $1.5 million from state for salmon habitat conservation, restoration

Habitat in three King County watersheds will continue to be improved for salmon and other fish species, thanks to grants from the Washington state Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). Governor Chris Gregoire has announced grants totaling $1.5 million for six salmon habitat protection and restoration projects in King County.

"Restoring fish habitat is essential to restoring fish populations, and these projects represent some of the most important habitat restoration work that we can do," said Executive Ron Sims.

The watersheds stretch from the Cascade crest west to Puget Sound. They are home to chinook salmon, listed as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act, plus a number of additional salmon and trout species.

Three projects funded in the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound watershed in southern King County:

Duwamish Gardens Estuary restoration in Tukwila - $311,000. This grant will help secure 2.16 acres along the Duwamish River for a critical salmon habitat restoration project. This reach of the estuary is where fresh and salt water mix, and where juvenile chinook salmon transition from the freshwater of the stream to the saltwater of Puget Sound. Once purchased, the property will be excavated to create mudflats and marshes where young salmon can feed and take shelter. Located in the midst of several other restoration sites, the project will provide an important habitat and open space link. The property takes its name from a business run by a long-time Tukwila family and is located just downstream of the East Marginal Way South bridge. The grant will be matched with contributions from other sources totaling over $1 million. The project work will be done by the City of Tukwila.

Beaconsfield-on-the-Sound shoreline restoration in Normandy Park - $100,000. This grant will fund design of a restoration project along a one-quarter-mile stretch of shoreline north of Marine View Park in Normandy Park. The project involves working with willing landowners to remove bulkheads that don't protect houses and properties, which clears the way for sand and gravel from the bluffs to replenish the shoreline. Healthy beaches are critical for young salmon in marine areas. The grant will be matched by a $64,500 donation from King Conservation District, and the project will be conducted by the Cascade Land Conservancy.

Riverview Park side channel refuge habitat in Kent - $150,000. This grant will fund design, permitting and construction of a side channel habitat restoration project on the Green River in Kent. The side channel will provide young salmon with year-round refuge from high flows that would otherwise sweep them downstream. The project is located west of the State Route 167 crossing of the Green River and will become part of a larger park development by the City of Kent. The city is matching this project with $320,000, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will contribute $1,120,000.

Two projects in the Snoqualmie watershed received funding:

Chinook Bend levee removal and habitat restoration - $365,000 . King County will restore Snoqualmie River floodplain habitat near Carnation by removing a levee that separates the river from its floodplain at the Chinook Bend Natural Area. The county-owned property consists of 59 acres within the river's 100-year floodplain. Levee removal will allow the river to access its floodplain at much lower flows than present conditions allow, while posing no flooding risk to other properties. The project increases the possibility of floodplain channel formation, which would increase habitat complexity. The project is expected to restore rearing habitat near productive spawning habitat and along the outmigration corridor for virtually the entire Snoqualmie River fall chinook population.

Camp Gilead off-channel habitat reconnection - $100,000 . Funds will be used to design a levee removal on land along the Snoqualmie River just downstream of the City of Carnation. The levee, which is on King County property, isolates the river from a small tributary, a wetland, and an historic backwater channel. Removing a 115-foot-long segment of the levee would restore four acres of off-channel habitat and provide critical rearing habitat close to chinook spawning grounds.

One project will be funded in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish watershed:

Cedar River Rainbow Bend acquisition to restore floodplain habitat - $436,000. This grant will be used to acquire 20 acres of critical floodplain along the lower Cedar River. The City of Seattle and King County are working together to purchase and restore the entire 40-acre floodplain, known as Rainbow Bend, which is the largest restoration opportunity on the Cedar River. This acquisition project will provide a future opportunity to reconnect the river with its floodplain, creating side-channels for salmon spawning and rearing, and restoring riparian habitat. The City of Seattle is providing matching funds of more than $4.5 million for the acquisition and has committed $1 million for future restoration.

These local projects vied with proposals from across the state in a rigorous evaluation process intended to identify the most effective and scientifically-sound projects statewide. Across the state, the SRFB allocated $16.6 million in state and federal funds for 95 habitat acquisition, restoration and assessment projects.

Before going to the SRFB for review, the project sponsors first had to present the proposals to local science panels and steering committees in each watershed. The steering committees are citizen-stakeholder groups that include local governments, environmental and business groups, and federal and state agencies.

Steering committees evaluate the proposals in terms of their benefit to salmon, certainty of success and level of community support. The SRFB considers the local evaluation along with its own technical analysis when making its funding decisions.

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

Contacts:

Doug Osterman, Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed, 206-296-8069

Kirk Anderson, Snoqualmie Watershed, 206-296-1948

Mary Jorgensen, Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed, 206-296-8067