Whatcom Salmon Recovery: Projects

Project Spotlight
Salmon Recovery Funding Board Projects
Habitat Protection Projects
Habitat Restoration Projects
Assessments and Studies

When you hear about a "salmon recovery project," it's more likely than not to be focused on habitat protection or restoration.

The Interim Habitat Restoration Strategy outlines priorities for habitat restoration, with the goal of treating the root causes of habitat degradation, rather than the symptoms. Since there is a limited amount of money for recovery projects, priority is given to projects focused on fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act. Other factors include whether the project ties into previous recovery projects, protects functioning habitat, repairs or restores functions, provides immediate and/or long-term benefits, and so on.

This interim restoration strategy will be updated and folded into a WRIA 1 salmon recovery plan, which will be available in the next year.

Project Spotlight
Each month, a local recovery project will be featured. Click here for the archive.

Salmon Recovery Funding Board Projects
In the last few years, one of the largest sources of funding for habitat projects has been the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRF Board). Created by the 1998 Salmon Recovery Act (ESHB 2496), the SRF Board has provided $8.6 million for 35 projects in WRIA 1.

Habitat Protection Projects
Protection projects focus on keeping high-quality habitat in excellent condition. This type of project usually either acquires land outright or purchases easements, which are legal agreements that restrict the type and amount of development on a piece of property. Examples of protection projects:

South Fork Nooksack Acquisitions
North Fork Nooksack / Racehorse Creek Acquisition

Habitat Restoration Projects
Habitat restoration projects aim to restore the natural biological and physical processes that form and maintain habitat, as well as the habitat itself. Examples of restoration project types:

Removing barriers to fish passage

Whatcom County Fish Passage Barrier Inventory (culvert inventory)
Middle Fork Diversion Passage Design

Instream habitat
Larson's Bridge Log Jams
Old Hutchinson Creek Woody Debris
WSDOT Four-Mile Flats
Middle Fork Side Channel Improvement
Acme-Saxon Instream Restoration

Riparian (streamside) habitat
East Acme Farm Plantings
Tenmile Creek Riparian Plantings
Larson's Reach Inter-plantings
Squalicum Creek Riparian Restoration
Terrell Creek Restoration

Integrating flood management and salmon recovery
Bertrand Creek Levee Setback
Upland habitat
Crown Pacific 330 Road in the South Fork

Assessments and Studies
Assessments and other studies are performed for a variety of reasons:

To determine where restoration dollars can be most effectively spent
To identify habitat problems, their relative impact on fish habitat and populations, and their possible solutions
To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a specific solution at a particular site
To prioritize a series of restoration activities and define a logical sequence for doing projects

Examples of assessments and studies that will lead to on-the-ground restoration projects:

Whatcom County Fish Passage Barrier Inventory
South Fork Saxon to Acme Assessment
Nooksack Estuary Habitat Assessment

Larson's Log Jam

Canyon Creek Fish Passage
The lower 4.5 miles of Canyon Creek [link to Canyon Creek Watershed of the Month], a major tributary to the North Fork Nooksack, are important spawning habitat for North Fork early chinook, which are listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act. (At river mile 4.5, there is a natural waterfall that prevents further migration upstream.) The creek is also considered a priority area for a second threatened species, bull trout.

(read more)

HOME SALMON PROJECTS BACKGROUND CONTACT SITE MAP