DESCRIPTION
This restoration project replaced a fish barrier culvert on the West Fork of Chenois Creek where it crosses under Ocean Beach County Road at milepost 4.5, in Grays Harbor County. Chenois Creek supports spawning and rearing for 5 species of salmonids; coho, Chinook, chum, steelhead as well as searun and resident cutthroat trout. Bull trout likely graze in the lower Chenois during winter months. The county road barrier site was ranked 30th to be corrected in the top 100 of the documented, prioritized barriers in the Chehalis Basin. The county road barrier consisted of two concrete culverts, 4 feet in diameter, 72 feet long, with a 1.78% slope and an outfall drop of 18 inches for each pipe. The outfall drop combined with undersized double culverts and the steep slope created a total juvenile barrier and an estimated 33% passable barrier for adult salmonids. The correction was installation of a bottomless arch culvert with a 24 foot span, 9 foot rise, 88 feet long, made of 5 gauge corrugated, galvanized steel. It was installed using stream simulation design criteria described in the WDFW manual, (Design of Road Culverts For Fish Passage). Project implementation required moving some utilities and a triffic diversion on the county road. This barrier was corrected the first half of August, 2014.