Check out SFEG’s latest fish passage improvement project!  The poorly maintained culverts on Upper Day Slough have long been an impediment to chum, Chinook and other fish moving through this Skagit River side channel, and SFEG has wanted to fix them for more than a decade.

Blue circles represent the former culvert on the new bridge.

On September 22, Moceri Inc from Bellingham started work to replace the old culverts with a shiny new bridge.  The bridge was in place by Friday 9/23 and as of today work on the project is wrapping up.  These projects benefit both fish and landowners, and are an incredibly cost-effective way of restoring habitat.

Laying the gravel on the road

This is the 5^th such bridge SFEG has worked on with engineer Paul Tappel of Fisheries Engineers Inc.  Design for this project was paid for by the State Salmon Recovery Board, and construction costs were funded by Puget Sound Energy as part of their Baker River relicense Aquatic and Riparian Habitat Improvement program.  Special thanks to landowners Tony and Hilda Becerra, and all of the Day Creek meadows folks for putting up with the inconvenience while we work.   Now we can sit back and wait for the fish to show up.