SEATTLE DISTRICT

Final Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finalized the Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the Skokomish River Basin Ecosystem Restoration Project.  The Chief's Report was signed December 14, 2015.  The Record of Decision was signed on April 18, 2016. 

General Investigation Study Purpose

The purpose of the Skokomish River Basin General Investigation (GI) feasibility study is to evaluate significant ecosystem degradation in the Skokomish River Basin; to formulate, evaluate, and screen potential solutions to these problems; and to recommend a series of actions and projects that have a federal interest and are supported by a local entity willing to provide the necessary items of local cooperation. There is a strong, united effort by federal, state, and local agencies as well as the Skokomish Indian Tribe for restoration of the Skokomish River Basin. Mason County and the Skokomish Indian Tribe are the cost-sharing, non-federal sponsors of the feasibility study.

Recommended Plan:

A recommended restoration plan was selected that includes a levee removal, a side channel reconnection, wetland restoration at two sites, and placement of large woody debris. The total area of the proposed sites included in the recommended plan is approximately 277 acres and the total estimated cost of the recommended plan is approximately $19.3 million.

Projects included in the recommended plan are:

• Confluence Levee Removal
• Upstream Large Woody Debris Installation
• Wetland Restoration at River Mile 9
• Wetland Restoration at Grange
• Side Channel Reconnection

The Skokomish River Basin is located on Hood Canal, a natural fjord-like arm of the Puget Sound and water of national significance. The Skokomish River is the largest source of freshwater to Hood Canal as it flows into Annas Bay and of critical importance in the overall health of Hood Canal. Environmental degradation can be seen throughout the Skokomish River Basin including a loss of natural ecosystem structures, functions, and processes necessary to support critical fish and wildlife habitat. The degradation of riverine and estuarine habitat has resulted in the listing of four anadromous fish species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Chinook salmon, chum salmon, steelhead, and bull trout) that utilize the river as their primary habitat. The impaired ecosystem has adversely affected riverine, wetland and estuarine habitats that are critical to these and other listed species.