DESCRIPTION
This Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan (RMAP) restoration project to address fish passage is located in Clallam County on an unnamed tributary of Coal Creek, which is a tributary to the Dickey River. The Dickey River and its tributaries provide abundant low-gradient habitat for spawning and rearing coho salmon, and steelhead and cutthroat trout. The Dickey drainage is known as one of the top coho smolt producers (measured by square kilometer of drainage) in Washington State. The Dickey confluences with the Quillayute River in the Quillayute Esturary.
The sponsor removed an undersized, deteriorating, and perched, 96" culvert and replacing it with a 60' bridge. The new structure allows fish passage under all flow conditions. The new bridge was installed at the 8.2 mile on the 5000 line, a heavily used logging road. The average width of the creek upstream of the project is 14’. The undersized culvert created conditions that resulted in a 20” outfall drop that plunged directly onto large rip rap, placed to protect the road, creating an obstacle to salmonid migrating upstream to access the habitat above the blocking culvert. Wood and gravel were also added to the stream to enhance the habitat, the entire site was planted with native vegetation, and an interpretive sign was installed.