DESCRIPTION
Washington DNR, Northwest Straits Foundation, and Island County MRC are partnering to restore 750+ linear feet of nearshore habitat benefiting forage fish, migrating juvenile salmonids, and other nearshore species. Creosote and untreated piles, large armor rock, concrete 'pillows', and other debris will be removed from the site. Most of these materials are currently located at or below MHHW burying potential forage fish spawning habitat and disrupting sediment transport and deposition. Fill materials and a concrete slab will be removed where feasible to regrade the slope to a natural gradient. The site will be vegetated, creating a riparian and forested corridor, connecting the nearshore and backshore to the uplands. Portions of the site adjacent to the parking area and immediately adjacent to the abutting private property to the south will require some shoreline protection, placed at or above MHHW to provide long-term protection of the infrastructure. This project comes out of the Shore Friendly Program.
Removal of the armor will: restore cross shore connectivity, linking nearshore, backshore, and uplands; increase intertidal nursery habitat for juvenile salmonids and spawning habitat for forage fish; increase the transfer and inputs of nutrients; and increase sediment input from adjacent feeder bluffs.