Thursday August 21, 2008
Tribes, State DNR
and Rayonier Complete Hoko River Restoration Project
Source: Washington State Department of Natural Resources
“This is a high priority restoration area because of the unique floodplain characteristics in the middle of the Hoko watershed, which provides prime habitat for salmon,” said Mike McHenry, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe habitat program manager. “Partnerships such as this can only benefit the environment and the salmon.”
The restoration site is at the confluence of two major Hoko River tributaries, Ellis Creek and Creek 191. The site is about 50 miles west of Port Angeles and 20 miles northwest of Forks. The creeks run through state trust forests managed by DNR and private Rayonier forests.
Salmon habitat was lost to old logging practices that clear-cut streamside (riparian) areas and left the streams without the ecosystem that salmon need to survive, including tree shade and food sources. Coastal chinook, coho and steelhead, and cutthroat trout and chum, are commonly found in this watershed. The area is also prime habitat for marbled murrelets, which is listed as threatened on the federal Endangered Species Act.
Restoration work included removing a fish-blocking, 8-foot-diameter culvert and 3,500 cubic yards of fill, opening up nearly 1.5 miles of high-quality salmon habitat on Creek 191. Crews also removed two log bridges that restricted the river channel’s flow. A series of nine engineered log jams were installed in the river, using more than 300 large logs with root wads throughout the half-mile stretch of the restoration area. Nearly 100 more logs will be brought in by helicopter in September and placed within a one-mile reach of Ellis Creek, near its confluence with the river. The log additions will help create habitat important for young salmon in which to feed and rest as they make their way to the ocean.
“The restoration of floodplain habitats in the Hoko River watershed is important because of the diversity of habitats that they create and the number of species that utilize them,” McHenry said.
“It is especially gratifying to participate in a project that will make such a difference to salmon and other wildlife,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland. “All of us in natural resource management have improved so much in our logging practices since this area was harvested many years ago — as projects like this stream restoration help illustrate. I appreciate the tribes’ and Rayonier’s partnership with us. Our best work is done jointly, enhancing and protecting larger areas within a watershed.”
“Rayonier is particularly pleased to be involved in the project to enhance the riparian habitat on the Hoko,” said Ian MacIver, Rayonier’s timber resource manager in Forks. “We continue to collaborate and work closely with area tribes, the DNR and the Salmon Recovery Funding Board to deliver win-win solutions which can be used as models for other restoration projects.”
Funding for the project came from the Lower Elwha Klallam and Makah Tribes, Rayonier, DNR, and the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.
Washington DNR
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources manages 2.1 million
acres of forested state trust lands statewide. DNR’s management of these
forests has earned them green certification under the Sustainable
Forestry Initiative (SFI®). Doug Sutherland, who leads DNR, is
Washington’s 12th Commissioner of Public Lands since statehood in 1889.
Contact:
Mike McHenry
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Habitat Program Manager
360-457-4012 ext. 14 or
mike.mchenry@elwha.nsn.us
or
Jeremy Gilman
Makah Tribe, Forest and Fish Hydrologist
360-645-3155 or
jeremygilman@centurytel.net
or
Jane Chavey
Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Communications
360-902-1721 or
jane.chavey@dnr.wa.gov
or
Michelle Verlander
Rayonier
360-613-4029 or
michelle.verlander@rayonier.com
or
Debbie Preston
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Coastal Information Officer
360-374-5501 or dpreston@nwifc.org
or
Tiffany Royal
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
Hood Canal/Strait of Juan de Fuca Information Officer
360-297-6546 or troyal@nwifc.org.