River Restoration

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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Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe uses sonar to count fish in Elwha River

Sonar is helping the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe get an accurate estimate of some species of salmon returning to the Elwha River.

The Tribe has been counting the number of returning adult chinook salmon and steelhead using a sonar camera since 2008 with positive results.

The camera is placed just below the water’s surface, sending out sound beams that “hit” a fish and reflect back to the camera. The camera is connected to a computer that translates the sound beams into pixels that are counted as fish.

This is part of the overall effort to see how many fish return to the river following the recent removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams. The Elwha was removed completely by March 2013 and the Glines Canyon is expected to be fully removed by end of 2014.  (more…)

Continue ReadingLower Elwha Klallam Tribe uses sonar to count fish in Elwha River