Quinault River

Read more about the article Quinault Indian Nation jump-starting important spruce tree growth
A Quinault Indian Nation tree planting crew plants spruce trees as part of jump-starting the growth of this key species that helps stabilize river channels and fish habitat.

Quinault Indian Nation jump-starting important spruce tree growth

A Quinault Indian Nation tree planting crew plants spruce trees as part of jump-starting the growth of this key species that helps stabilize river channels and fish habitat.
A Quinault Indian Nation tree planting crew plants spruce trees as part of jump-starting the growth of this key species that helps stabilize river channels that are important fish habitat.

Restoring Sitka spruce and native vegetation to the upper Quinault River valley floodplain is another piece of the complex puzzle the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) is assembling to rehabilitate the Quinault River and the sockeye or blueback salmon that depend on a healthy river system.

In the first phase of river restoration, QIN installed 13 engineered logjams in Alder Creek in 2008. The 2012 project built seven more engineered logjams to stabilize the river channel, restore habitat for salmon and reduce risk to landowners’ property from erosion.

Most recently, the Quinault Division of Natural Resources (QDNR) and its contractor R2 Resource Consultants, began the first of many floodplain forest treatments this spring after an extensive planning process. (more…)

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Read more about the article Retreating glaciers adding to fish woes on Quinault River
In this photo that shows historical pictures of the Anderson Glacier courtesy of the University of Washington, and Larry Workman's modern picture of the same location, the demise of the glacier is clear.

Retreating glaciers adding to fish woes on Quinault River

In this photo that shows historical pictures of the Anderson Glacier courtesy of the University of Washington, and Larry Workman's modern picture of the same location, the demise of the glacier is clear.
Glaciers that feed the Queets and Quinault Rivers are just fractions of the size they were a few decades ago. As they recede, they threaten salmon stocks important to the Quinault Indian Nation.

“These glaciers once provided large amounts of cold water, year-round, that maintained higher summer flows, “ said Tyler Jurasin, QIN operations section manager. Lower flows mean less habitat for spring/summer chinook runs in the Queets and Quinault rivers on the Olympic Peninsula, which already face many other threats to their survival.

“In addition to lower summertime flows, we are dealing with a lot of sediment released by the retreat of the Humes and Anderson glaciers,” said Jurasin. (more…)

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First of Many Logjams Protecting Sockeye Habitat on Quinault River

“The primary objectives of the project were to protect the entrance of this important side channel used by sockeye for spawning and to reestablish new surfaces for floodplain reforestation planting. We have met those objectives” said Armstrong. “It was also the first time that a net loss of sockeye salmon spawning habitat was avoided in this watershed."

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Quinault Project Completed in Half the Time With Partnerships

"We took a leap of faith when we put it out to bid that we could come up with the money for the additional jams this year," said Ed Johnstone, fisheries policy representative for QIN. To complete the additional four jams, QIN had to buy more logs. Thanks to last-minute donations of $10,000 from Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition in Forks, $15,000 from Wild Salmon Center in Portland and $25,000 from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the project protecting one of the last remaining spawning channels for sockeye was completed.

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Eight Peninsula Tribes, Olympic National Park Sign Pact

"The partnerships that are being built both in this process and in our work regarding removal of the Elwha dams and bringing the salmon back has been gratifying," said Frances Charles, chairman of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. "It will continue to be important that we be informed when there are camps or artifacts found. Protecting all the resources on these lands and doing no harm is a joint concern. We're grateful that the details of the government-to-government relationship make this partnership work and it will evolve as we listen to one another and move forward."

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