DESCRIPTION
More than 30 years ago, the WDFW Salmon Screening Habitat Enhancement and Restoration (SSHEAR) Program developed over 50 off-channel habitat sites for the benefit of overwintering coho salmon. Today, many of the structures and methods that were used for development are deteriorating or outdated and in need of resolution. This project seeks to address a small number of sites where there is an opportunity to remove the artificial legacy structures (ie plank weirs) and restore natural processes and fish passage using low cost, low tech methods.
More than 30 years ago, the WDFW Salmon Screening Habitat Enhancement and Restoration (SSHEAR) Program developed over 50 off-channel habitat sites for the benefit of overwintering coho salmon. Over time, many of the structures became obsolete or deteriorated to the point that they became migration barriers to present fish species. This restoration project used low-tech, process based methods to remove or modify the existing legacy structures in two project locations on Rayonier lands within the Dickey River watershed, a low gradient tributary in the Quillayute River Basin. The overall goal of this project was to restore natural processes that will improve habitat quality (complexity) and connectivity for juvenile coho. Both project sites provide off-channel rearing habitat and are located in small streams that connect existing beaver ponds to mainstem river habitats.
