Habitat for endangered salmon and other wildlife in the Snoqualmie and South Fork Skykomish watersheds will see added improvements, thanks to more than $800,000 in Cooperative Watershed Management grants from the King County Flood Control District.
Projects funded include tree planting, stream and floodplain restoration, levee setbacks, scientific monitoring and watershed education.
These watersheds are home to chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and bull trout, all listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. Chum, pink and coho salmon, as well as rainbow and cutthroat trout also depend on the freshwater in these watersheds.
The grants were created in 2012 to support salmon recovery and water quality projects in King County. The Snoqualmie Watershed Forum approves local grants annually. Funds will be matched by tribes, cities, non-profits, King County, state and federal sources.
Local projects were evaluated in a rigorous process to identify those that will be most effective and scientifically sound.
The Snoqualmie and South Fork Skykomish watersheds are part of the larger Snohomish Basin, also known as Water Resource Inventory Area 7, and include the three forks of the Snoqualmie River above the falls all the way down to the King County/Snohomish County line, as well as the South Fork Skykomish from Stevens Pass to the county line.
Snoqualmie Valley projects funded include:
Snoqualmie Riverwalk Phase I Restoration – $50,000
The city of Snoqualmie is proposing a riparian planting as part of the city’s larger riverwalk work that ranked high on the state’s Floodplains by Design grant list. This project will enhance 1,800 feet of shoreline of the Snoqualmie River by controlling weeds and planting conifers, improving water quality and shading. This project will include planting 21 acres north of Kimball Creek. Local grant match is $10,000.
Snoqualmie Footbridge Revetment Removal Feasibility -$94,358
Wild Fish Conservancy will conduct a feasibility analysis for habitat restoration at a site in Tolt-MacDonald Park near the confluence of the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers. This project, identified as a Forum priority for several years, will look at the potential of restoring 14 acres of floodplain by removing 2,000 feet of revetment.
Kimball Creek Water Quality Improvement Project: Phase III – $78,551
The Snoqualmie Tribe proposes to remove blackberry from 1,100 feet of Kimball Creek, re-grade the banks to a 3:1 slope, and establish a 35 to 100 foot buffer of native riparian vegetation totaling approximately 2.7 acres. This work will occur on two parcels on Kimball Creek and extend the riparian restoration already done on Kimball Creek with neighboring landowners. Local grant match is $42,338.
Snoqualmie River Juvenile Salmon Outmigration Monitoring – $60,000
The Tulalip Tribes will continue to monitor juvenile salmon outmigration in the Snoqualmie River Basin with these funds. This grant will help fund the operation of the screw trap at river mile 12.2 near Duvall. The project provides ongoing status, trends and abundance monitoring needed to support run forecasting, and is a quintessential indicator of successful salmon recovery in the Snohomish Basin. Local grant match is $140,390.
Restoring Riparian Function along the Snoqualmie River: Monitoring, Maintenance and Knotweed Treatment at Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center -$55,000
This collaboration between Oxbow Farm and Stewardship Partners will allow for needed maintenance on several riparian restoration sites on the farm property. Funding will allow Oxbow to document baseline and post-project conditions, work with Stewardship Partners to produce short-, mid-, and long-term maintenance and improvement plans specifying goals for each area, implement the plans and perform necessary monitoring. Local grant match is $113,656.
Blue Heron Golf Course Phase I Riparian Restoration – $60,000
Sound Salmon Solutions proposes to restore seven miles along the mainstem Snoqualmie. The project includes removing invasive weeds and planting trees and shrubs to control water temperatures and erosion along the Snoqualmie River. Local grant match is $17,332.
Tolt San Souci – Floodplain Restoration Feasibility and Design – $180,704
King County proposes restoring floodplain habitat-forming processes along the Tolt River by removing a revetment and the remnant infrastructure in the San Souci neighborhood. This grant will help fund a feasibility study, an alternatives analysis and 30 percent design plans for this project. When completed, the project is expected to reconnect more than 60 acres of the Tolt floodplain. Local grant match is $278,753.
Tolt Steelhead Census – $19,500
Wild Fish Conservancy proposes to perform three years of adult summer steelhead monitoring that provides critical data for this ESA-listed population. These surveys will provide steelhead counts as well as determine their origin (hatchery or wild). This work builds on over 20 years of steelhead surveys performed in the Tolt. Local grant match is $1,252.
