DESCRIPTION
Objectives: 1) complete a baseline assessment for 5 miles of Shale Creek, 2) complete instream LWD preliminary designs for up to 5 miles of Shale Creek, 3) complete permitting package for LWD installations in up to 5 miles of Shale Creek Deliverables: 1) baseline assessment technical memorandum, 2) preliminary instream LWD designs, basis of design report, and cost estimate, 3) materials sources, specifications, quantities, and cost estimate, 4) permit package for landowner submission to regulatory agencies
The Quinault Division of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Natural Resources submit this proposal for funding from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board to complete a baseline assessment, preliminary designs, and permit application package for a large wood debris restoration project in Shale Creek (RM 1.4-RM 4.4). Shale Creek is a tributary of the Clearwater River in the Lower Clearwater River Watershed. The Clearwater River is a major tributary to the lower Queets River on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington State. The overall goal of the project is to rehabilitate instream habitat conditions and restore physical and ecological processes that create and maintain complex habitats for all life history stages of salmon and other fish species that utilize Shale Creek. Restoring Shale Creek will help increase the resiliency of Clearwater River coho and other salmon populations to natural variability in the freshwater and marine environments and potential impacts associated with climate change. Primary types of habitat to be restored include in-stream and off-channel habitats. Priority species supported by the project include Clearwater River coho, chinook, steelhead, chum, cutthroat, and Pacific lamprey. The salmon produced from Shale Creek support subsistence, commercial, and recreational fisheries for both tribal and non-tribal users. Project deliverables include 1) a baseline assessment technical memorandum, 2) preliminary instream LWD designs, basis of design report, and cost estimate, 3) a materials schedule including sources, specifications, quantities, and cost estimate, and 4) a permit application package for landowner(s). The project timeline is from December 2018 to June 2020. Our goal is to propose the construction phase of the project to the Washington State Legislature for funding through the Washington Coast Restoration Initiative or Washington State Department of Natural Resources Programs.