The Tacoma News Tribune reported on the latest project of Tacoma Power's hydroelectric program on the North Fork of the Skokomish River, as part of the 2009 settlement with the Skokomish…
The Kitsap Sun reports that Suquamish Tribe has applied for a grant from Department of Ecology to update an overall assessment of the health of the Blackjack Creek watershed in…
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe natural resources director Scott Chitwood spoke with the Sequim Gazette recently about the tribe's concern for water supply and salmon this summer following 2014-15's mild winter and low snowpack…
Farming interests in Skagit County often seem at odds with salmon habitat restoration, but an ongoing project by the Swinomish Tribe aims to show that it doesn’t have to be that way.
The tribe owns the land known as the Smokehouse tidelands along the Swinomish Channel south of the Swinomish Casino and Lodge. Historically, the land was part of a system of channels that served as estuarine rearing habitat for Skagit River salmon. When the Skagit Valley was settled, the tidelands were diked and drained for agricultural use.
Since 2005, the tribe has restored tidal flow and improved fish passage to the channels by replacing four traditional flap gates with self-regulating tide gates. In addition, three culverts have been replaced by bridges, and several have been removed. (more…)
The United States Geological Survey announced this week that five papers revealing results of several studies of the effects of dam removal on the Elwha River were published recently in the science…
The Lummi Nation has written a formal letter urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reject the permit to build the Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point. "The impacts…
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…)
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Washington Sea Grant are observing an increase of forage fish and Dungeness crab near the mouth of the Elwha River since the river’s two dams have been demolished.
Divers have noted continuous sand deposits in the Elwha nearshore, covering formerly cobble-dominated sub-tidal areas. This has resulted in the habitat shifting from a rocky bottom and kelp-dominated habitat to a soft-bottomed habitat suitable for clams, crabs, and other species.
“We first documented sand lance near the mouth of the river in 2012 after the dams started to come down in 2011,” said Matt Beirne, the tribe’s environmental coordinator and diver. Juvenile crab were also first seen in the new sand habitat just off the river mouth in 2013 during a dive survey.
The Kitsap Sun (subscription required) reported on the removal of a partial fish-blocking culvert on Chico Creek, under Kittyhawk Drive. Under the direction of the Suquamish Tribe, the 50-year old culvert is…
The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal posted a story about Kitsap County purchasing 535 acres of forestland and 1.5 miles of shoreline on Port Gamble Bay for conservation. Initiated by the…