Habitat restoration

Read more about the article Suquamish Tribe’s Doe Kag Wats estuary: Keeping good wood, removing bad wood

Suquamish Tribe’s Doe Kag Wats estuary: Keeping good wood, removing bad wood

The Suquamish Tribe’s Doe Kag Wats estuary is the site of a large woody debris removal experiment this summer.

”Our hypothesis is that by removing the excess amount of the milled and treated logs that have washed into the estuary, the native marsh vegetation will be restored, as well as insect species, many of which are important to both healthy and recovering salmon populations,” said Tom Ostrom, the tribe’s salmon recovery coordinator and project manager.

The project is two-fold: First, the tribe and the state Department of Natural Resources removed the remaining creosote pilings from the estuary. These toxic pilings have been pushed into the estuary by storms and tides for decades. (more…)

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Suquamish Tribe, agencies restore eelgrass beds on Bainbridge Island

Work will begin this week on the final phase of a major eelgrass restoration project located just outside Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island.

The project is at the site of the former Milwaukee Dock, near Pritchard Park. The dock, removed in the early 1990s, historically served the Wyckoff creosote plant; the area is now a Superfund cleanup site.

The dock was constructed in a dense subtidal meadow of eelgrass, which was further impacted by navigation channels that left two large depressions too deep for eelgrass to grow and flourish. (more…)

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Restoration planned this summer for Skagit River tributary

srsc-illabotWork is set to begin this summer to restore salmon habitat in Illabot Creek, a tributary to the Skagit River.

Once a winding, multi-channeled creek, Illabot was straightened and diked in 1970 when a bridge crossing was constructed on Rockport-Cascade Road. Straightening the creek degraded salmon habitat by creating a steeper gradient, reducing channel area and habitat complexity.

Illabot Creek is a highly productive tributary to the upper Skagit River, supporting chinook, chum, coho and pink salmon, native char and steelhead trout. Much of the watershed already has been protected or restored, but this half-mile reach on the historic alluvial fan remains heavily degraded. (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe’s BioBlitz counts hundreds of species in restored habitat

Volunteers from Alderleaf Wilderness College investigate scat near Hansen Creek during the Upper Skagit Tribe’s BioBlitz.

The Upper Skagit Tribe recruited scientists and volunteers to help document the plant and animal life taking advantage of restored habitat along Hansen Creek.

A few years ago, the tribe partnered with other agencies to restore 140 acres of freshwater floodplain and wetland habitat within the Skagit County-owned Northern State Recreation Area near the Upper Skagit reservation.

Last summer, Upper Skagit hosted a 12-hour BioBlitz, a “citizen science extravaganza,” to develop a species list reflecting the site’s biodiversity. Volunteers assisted scientists in identifying plants, mammals, birds, macroinvertebrates, fungi and insects. In all, 296 species were documented, including mayflies and midges, herons and warblers, lichen and fungus, and beavers and skunks.

“The Hansen Creek BioBlitz was a great success thanks to all the amazing experts and volunteers who came out and participated,” said environmental specialist Lisa Hainey. “We hope to conduct another BioBlitz at a different time of year to see other species. Who knows what else might be out there?” (more…)

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