DESCRIPTION
The objective of this project is to increase the function of fluvial and floodplain habitats for chinook salmon and steelhead in the lower reaches of the Dosewallips River through the creation of Engineered Log Jams (ELJs). This project would focus on ELJ's in the power line reach.
Large woody debris historically played a dominant role in controlling channel morphology, the storing and routing of sediment, and the formation of fish habitat. Large woody debris creates habitat heterogeneity by forming pools, back eddies, and side channels, and by increasing channel sinuosity and hydraulic complexity. Much of this function has been lost in the alluvial reaches of Puget Sound Rivers through the logging of mature riparian vegetation and the removal of instream woody debris.