Cedar Grove | Project 12 of 30

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Located 1.8 miles upriver of Dalles bridge in Concrete Washington exists Cedar Grove; a quiet wetland located in the Skagit floodplain in a channel long abandoned by the mainstem river. It may surprise some readers to learn that Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group is currently working with Skagit County Public Works, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete a restoration project designed to benefit Skagit Chinook and (by extension) resident orcas.

SFEG staff (From left to right, Joe George, Erin Matthews, and Sue Madsen) collecting fish use data at Cedar Grove 2019

Thanks to increased awareness, most Washington residents know that our iconic Southern Resident Orcas are critically endangered. Although the current population includes a total of 75 individuals, only 30 of those orcas are effective breeding population members, aka potential parents. Chemical and noise pollution are serious issues for these animals, however one of the main factors thought to be pushing them towards extinction is a lack of access to their primary prey species: Chinook, or king Salmon. Unfortunately for the orcas, and for all other Washington residents who enjoy a king salmon fillet, Chinook are also listed as “threatened” according to the federal endangered species act.

 

Washington Conservation Corps Crew Leader, Mitch Biggs, measures a resident cutthroat trout at Cedar Grove, May 2021

In the winter and spring The Cedar Grove swells with river water as the Skagit River expands due to rain snow melt.It’s a protected place where newly hatched salmon and trout who don’t stand a chance against the harsh river current can take refuge and wait out the storm before continuing their journey to the ocean. Some of these tiny juveniles, such as trout, coho and some Chinook, will seek out habitats like this one and will remain there for an entire year before they head out to the ocean, but only if the conditions stays habitable year round. These nursery habitats are not abundant enough in the Skagit, a lack of freshwater rearing habitat is one of the primary limiting factors for juvenile Chinook in the Skagit. Recent research suggest that when juvenile salmon cannot find a suitable place to rear they tend to head out to the ocean early-and perish.

Volunteers from the 4th Corner Fly Fishers pose with their newly constructed public river access trail at Cedar Grove

How does a construction project in Concrete WA help Orcas? Cedar Grove is an excellent place for a baby salmon to rear, however it is currently limited by a severely undersized culvert that blocks 3.5 acres of pond and wetland habitat fed year round by cool groundwater springs. This is why Skagit County Public works plans on replacing the perpetually-beaver-clogged 2ft in diameter pipe with an appropriately sized 120 ft long pedestrian bridge. SFEG crews have been collecting pre-project data since 2018 and have observed hundreds of salmon including juvenile coho, Chinook, and cutthroat trout as well as numerous native non-salmonid fish species. Many times, SFEG staff have observed these salmon congregating at the culvert outlet, unable to access the resources and space upstream. Ultimately, we expect this project to benefit hundreds of juvenile salmonids per year by opening up a large area with abundant food and safe hiding places for them to rear in and prepare for harsh open ocean life.

If you would like to see this site for yourself you are in luck!

This project is located on a publicly owned WDFW property in Concrete WA and (thanks to the hard work donated by the 4th Corner Fly Fishers) visitors to Cedar Grove can currently enjoy a newly built foot trail that winds through the forest and access the shore of the Skagit River. In the near future this trail will be made into a loop enhanced by several benches and an interpretive sign. We expect to complete this project by summer 2022 when SFEG will assist the County with construction of the 120ft pedestrian bridge.

Thank you National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for donating funds to support this work. 

Learn more about NFWF’s Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program 

A juvenile coho salmon and hundreds of other juvenile salmonids rearing downstream of the barrier culvert at Cedar Grove. Photo by Erin Matthews 

Deception Pass | Project 11 of 30

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As you look out from the Deception Pass bridge linking Fidalgo to Whidbey Island, plunging rock faces and forests jut into the vibrantly blue coastline waters of the Salish Sea. The variety of recreation and visual appeal makes Deception Pass one of Washington’s top parks to visit. Over the past 5 years, Skagit Fisheries has been working side by side with Northwest Straits Foundation and Skagit County Marine Resource Committee (MRC) to make this place more than just bountiful to the human eye and body, but to enhance the landscapes for the many plant and animal species that rely on this habitat.

Cornet Bay Pre-Project 2012

Cornet Bay Post-Planting 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When visiting Deception Pass you’re likely to see salmon, bull trout, marine birds, crabs, and countless other critters. Over the past decade groups of volunteers have sifted through the sand for a particularly special species. The brackish water on the park’s beaches serves as a home for salmon forage fish, such as surf smelt. These fish provide important nutrients for salmon as they prepare their bodies in the estuary to transition into the ocean. This period in a salmon’s life cycle can determine their survival out at sea, where they also serve as a main energy source for our beloved orcas. However, these beaches were not providing the proper habitat for forage fish, and thus salmon, to survive. 

Prior to 2015, Deception Pass’s Bowman Bay contained large boulders and logs, referred to as riprap, that were piled up along the shore to protect the once standing fish hatchery on site.

Volunteers weeding Bowman Bay

This infrastructure caused huge problems to the shoreline ecosystems, preventing forage fish eggs from surviving as they are usually nestled in the sand and pebbles along the shore. As Island County MRC and volunteers surveyed the beach for the little fish eggs for almost 10 years, they received alarming results of limited populations of forage fish. 

The same problem was occurring just a few minutes down the road at Cornet Bay. The site is a perfect spot for salmon fry migrants as its estuary habitat provides protection and  food for the growing fish. However, this fish sanctuary wasn’t being utilized to its full potential due to the creosoted bulkheads and fill backing that covered a majority of the shoreline. In 2015, the restoration process,spear-headed by Northwest Straits Foundation, took off. The shore armor and bulkheads were removed, the beaches were re-graded to match the natural beach slope, and native vegetation was restored to the shore area. The project was completed in November in 2016, just a year after it began. But the work to bring back forage fish populations had only just begun.

Cornet Bay Beach January 2014

After a grand total of nearly 2,400 volunteer hours at both sites (not including the many hours SFEG volunteers have contributed to planting and maintenance), conducting pre/post construction monitoring to survey the physical and biological changes after the riprap was removed, and 5 years later, forage fish eggs were found once again on the shorelines of both of these sites.

The restoration of these sites undoubtedly has a cascade effect on the ecosystems in the surrounding area and far beyond the Salish Sea. As the forage fish populations rise, the salmon will thrive, providing more nutrients to all of the Pacific Northwest species that rely on their bounty. 

Bowman Bay Panorama

Further reading and resources: 

Bowman Bay Restoration-Northwest Straits Foundation Video 

Bowman Bay Restoration-Puget Sound Partnership Video 

Cornet Bay Restoration

Bakerview Park | Project 10 of 30

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Dateline – 1995, Bakerview Park Creek, eastside Mount Vernon, WA

Wasteland to Wilderness

Stream may one day teem with salmon

So said the Lead Headline in the Skagit Valley Herald newspaper, Oct. 21, 1995.  Page A1, above the fold. Definitely where you want to have your restoration group’s story, maximum coverage and pictures on the front page of Skagit County’s largest circulation newspaper.  Everyone reads it, then, including mayors, city council people, county commissioners; farmers, landowners big and small, everyone. No useful on-line news sources, or social media, or recognizable modern cell phones, then, – 26 years ago.

And another headline:

Governor comes to ‘listen and learn’

Locke checks out salmon project  (he saw hundreds of juvenile coho in the creek while he shoveled gravel)

He says, “If we can do it here, we can do it all across the state”

-Lead headline in Skagit Valley Herald July 3, 1997, Page A1 above the fold. 

 And yet again:

Fish Restoration Group praised by Governor

“A Skagit County fish restoration group (SFEG) so impressed Gov. Gary Locke last summer that he decided to single out its members during his annual legislative address yesterday”   (Those of us who were there, at his invitation, remember what a big deal that was!  TV, a packed state capitol chamber, and the food at the governor’s mansion was tasty, too.)  

1997 – Project named Wash. Dept. Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Project of the Year

1997 – John Hocking (owner of project site) named WDFW Landowner of the Year

He donated the 12-acre wetland/stream restoration site to be added to the adjacent Bakerview Park.  He also donated project engineering, permitting, and major funding for construction costs.  All free.  He sought no compensation.

SFEG was 4,5,6 years old at those times.  So, who was this fledgling, little known local group, and what were they trying to do anyway?  And why were people saying “Hmmm, how do I get a hold of these guys to come take a look at this problem I have on my place, so maybe they can help me out?”  Those are exactly the kinds of questions and intense local interest generated by this project.  Never underestimate the importance, and value, of good press reports.  This kind of reporting – detailed, accurate, and enthusiastic was “cultivated” by SFEG and has paid dividends for years and years.  This and many other early projects generated community good will and helped a lot with landowner acceptance countywide.  SFEG was becoming trusted, and not instantly suspect.  The crew was learning how to restore creeks, and salmon.  Fast.

So what was everyone getting so excited about anyway?

SFEG Board President Arn Thoreen (left) and Project Manager Harry Taggart (right) helping Governor Locke move rocks into the creek

Bakerview Creek, so named by Kevik (a long-time SFEG restoration tech), had been thoroughly beaten up before SFEG stepped in.  This small tributary of Nookachamps Creek, itself a tributary of the lower Skagit River, flows through a small part of east Mount Vernon. It now flows through the City’s Bakerview Park.  It didn’t always.  Some time in the last 125 years the land was cleared, leveled, and drained to support local farming, the last being a chicken farm, I hear.  Bakerview Creek had been reduced to one of these farm drainage ditches.  Very typical.  The lower creek section also had become a ditch alongside Waugh Road.  Also typical.  For maybe 150 feet of the upper reaches of the creek north of Fir Street, there were still a few coho salmon and cutthroat trout spawning in what little gravel was left.  Things were in sad shape.  Then along came an out-of-town real estate development company and made it worse.  They totally tore up the 12 acres of wetlands and creek in a week of hard work with heavy equipment, big crews, and long hours.  They did it to build 54 homes, by filling the wetland.   By knowingly flaunting federal wetland Regulations (yes, even way back then there were such things, and they knew it, being lawyers), the out-of-towners got shut down by the Army Corps of Engineers, permanently.  After awhile, John Hocking, a local home-builder, bought the land knowing its status and moonscape condition.   It could not be made worse.   Now the fun begins. 

Gary Locke with coho fry

Very few companies were doing stream or wetland restoration then. Few do now.  Fewer groups like SFEG were doing major stream relocations, or total stream and wetland makeovers.  But that is exactly what SFEG did at Bakerview, with some help.  The brand new SFEG crew, and project manager (all newly hired displaced timber workers) were able to relocate and totally build a new creek channel, one half miles worth, a rearing pond, and to regrade and restore the bombed wetland.  With some templates, alignments and grades provided by the engineer, guidance by WDFW, and funding from both Mr. Hocking and the new state funding program – Jobs for the Environment, – SFEG went to work.  It was a seat of the pants, get a lot done on a shoestring budget, scrounging most materials, design and build as you go, totally fun kind of project to build.  SFEG did a few of these major creek makeovers back then; a half mile here, a mile plus over there….very willing and enthusiastic landowners let this kind of work happen. This kind of project is not even contemplated anymore.  And certainly not for $150K.

It is worth hearing from the men who built Bakerview Creek:

John Hocking – landowner – (then) – “It just made sense (doing the project).  Either that, or it would just grow up to be thistles” He considered the creek and wetland as an amenity to his development.  And it is. 

Doug Schwind – engineer – (then)  “When playing with Mother Nature, you make your best guess.”  (now)  “I had no experience designing creeks, but we all worked well together and it came out fine.”

Harry Taggart – SFEG project manager – (then)  “I hope this new healthy habitat draws salmon like bees to honey.”

Dave Holt – SFEG crew boss – (now)  “I love to fish and hunt.  This project needed to be done; it was the right thing to do.  It was in town, and kids and others would have easy access to it and could learn about creeks and salmon.” 

Kevik Rensink – SFEG environmental tech – the greenhorn new kid  (now) – “We were busy back then!  It was fun work, really fun!  It was not so much the paycheck, it was the pride we took in what we were doing. And we did it on a shoestring.”

Rick Harkness – private contractor/excavator operator extraordinaire, having built many SFEG projects over the years – (now)  “I enjoy the challenge of that kind of work, it makes me a better operator, and it’s good for the fish.  On Bakerview, I had the freedom to build it the way I wanted to, build it until you’re happy with how it looks.  Make it fishy. We were the only ones doing this kind of work, so others learned from us.  And we got to use ugly wood, twisted, bent, lots of nooks and crannies, sometimes a little punky. And stumps. Lots of stumps.”

Kurt Buchanan – WDFW fish bio – (then)  “ It’s trained a lot of people in how to do this right.” (and now) “I told them to go build a creek they could be proud of.  And we did.”

Now, 25 years later, the creek still has maybe 1/3 mile of suitable (for an urban creek) coho and cutthroat spawning area.  Generations of fish have now used the “new” Bakerview Cr. for spawning and rearing, and they still do.  The zillion trees and bushes planted by SFEG volunteers and others are now big, totally shading the creek.   This was the first major SFEG project. They were learning by doing, learning fast, and they did it well.  

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You should go see it.

Project partners (including Kurt Buchanan, left) at the Governor’s State of the State address

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog post contributed by Kurt Buchanan

Retired WDFW fish biologist

former Skagit Fisheries Board Member