Watershed Acreage- 38,049 acres

Anadromous Salmonid Use- Nearshore: Chinook, bull trout, coho, chum, cutthroat, and steelhead
Freshwater: coho, chum, cutthroat, and steelhead

Total Stream Miles- 14 miles
Anadromous Stream Miles- 14 miles

303(d) Listings- Fecal coliform

Ownership Pattern:
The City of Shelton, Simpson Timber Company and private developers own the lower mile, with Green Diamond Resource Company owning headwaters. There is rural private residential sprinkled throughout the watershed.

Watershed Description:
Development has dramatically impacted the lower miles of Goldsborough Creek. The City of Shelton impacts the mouth with stormwater pipes draining to the creek as well as dikes and levees that provide flood control in the lower miles. City stormwater utility pipes cross the creek below ground level near the mouth upstream of the Simpson Timber Company Mill. The creek continually exposes these pipes, requiring frequent instream maintenance by the city.
The headwaters of Goldsborough Creek originate in a wetland complex owned by Green Diamond . Simpson also owns the railroad that crosses the creek several times with bridges at each crossing. This area is also the site of a recent dam removal sponsored by the ACOE, Simpson, Squaxin Island Tribe, WDFW, WDOE, SPSSEG, etc. The former dam produced electricity since the 1940's, preventing fish passage until the installation of a fish ladder in the 1960's. All participants saw the merits in removing the dam and embarked on a project that has installed a series of 36 weirs over the course of 0.5 miles of creek, allow fish passage. The riparian area has been replanted with native vegetation and fish have once again begun passing upstream. Upstream of the site, the creek is in good condition with spawning gravels, rearing at the headwaters, nice pool quality, and a functioning riparian corridor. Coffee Creek is a right bank tributary offering additional rearing habit. The estuary is in poor condition due to its alteration by both the city and the timber company.

Description from the Salmon Habitat Protection and Restoration Plan for Water Resource Inventory Area 14, Kennedy-Goldsborough. For more information including salmonid stock status see the previously stated document or the Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Water Resource Inventory Area 14, Kennedy-Goldsborough Basin. For fish use see the map image located in pictures. For a list of priority projects and programs in this watershed see the document titled Goldsborough Creek -Priority Habitat Projects and Programs.