DESCRIPTION
This project removes about 1,400 yards of fill and replaces the barrier (road prism) with a 120 foot bridge on Preacher's Slough Road. Upon completion of the construction the slough channel will be fully passable to all fish, and hydrologic connectivity will be restored to seven miles of Preacher's Slough, numerous side channels and the river mainstem. Besides the impediment to fish passage and hydraulic connectivity, the Preacher's Slough Road degrades other high ranking habitat features such as large woody debris recruitment and water quality. Water sampling at the blockage site found that the water temperature was lower, dissolved oxygen higher, and salinity lower on the side of the barrier that is open to the river. These findings suggest that a significant improvement to water quality in the slough could result from removal of the barrier (Griffith, Jamie. 2000, unpublished. A Preliminary Study to Document Fishes in Two Major Sloughs of the Chehalis River, p 5.
This project removes about 1,400 yards of fill and replaces the barrier (road prism) with a 120 foot bridge on Preacher’s Slough Road. Upon completion of the construction the slough channel will be fully passable to all fish, and hydrologic connectivity will be restored to seven miles of Preacher’s Slough, numerous side channels and the river mainstem.
Besides the impediment to fish passage and hydraulic connectivity, the Preacher’s Slough Road degrades other high ranking habitat features such as large woody debris recruitment and water quality. Water sampling at the blockage site found that the water temperature was lower, dissolved oxygen higher, and salinity lower on the side of the barrier that is open to the river. These findings suggest that a significant improvement to water quality in the slough could result from removal of the barrier (Griffith, Jamie. 2000, unpublished. A Preliminary Study to Document Fishes in Two Major Sloughs of the Chehalis River, p 5.
