DUCKABUSH RIVER - WRIA 16.0351
Description: The Duckabush River is along the southern boundary of Jefferson County (near Mason County) and is within the Hood Canal summer chum and the Puget Sound Chinook ESUs. The watershed comprises approximately 49,970 acres (about 78 square miles). The annual average discharge is 411 cubic feet per second at RM 4.9. As with other east Olympic Mountain drainages, it has a bimodal hydrology with winter and spring peaks.

Stock Status: See salmon distribution maps, stock charts, and documents (right side of screen).

Federally listed (threatened) - HC/ESJF summer chum spawning and rearing (depressed in 2002 SaSI); Puget Sound Chinook salmon rearing and spawning (critical in 2002 SaSI) as part of Mid-Hood Canal Chinook stock
Depressed - pink, winter steelhead (2002 SaSI)
Healthy - coho, fall/late fall chum (2002 SaSI)
Unknown - summer steelhead (2002 SaSI)

Land Use: The Duckabush River watershed is similar to that of the Dosewallips River. Approximately 28,875 acres are within Olympic National Park and 15,681 acres are within Olympic National Forest, together comprising 89% of the watershed area. Due to budgetary constraints, however, the USFS has not been able to properly maintain and/or decommission forest roads, thereby increasing the threat of future sedimentation problems. The remaining watershed is zoned for privately-held forest lands (3,725 acres), rural residential land use (1,414 acres), and parks (134 acres). There is no commercial or industrial-zoned land in the Duckabush River watershed. The predominant residential zoning in this watershed (863 acres) is one residence per five acres.

For all references and an expanded version of this description see the Hood Canal Coordinating Council's Habitat Recovery Strategy for the Hood Canal and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, version 09-2005

The Three Year Work Plan Narrative describes in detail the larger picture for restoration goals for all the habitat in the Duckabush and Dosewallips River.