DESCRIPTION
This project will restore approximately 1 acre of floodplain and 1000 feet of in-stream habitat within Keta Park, and approximately 1000 feet of in-stream habitat downstream of Keta Park through the golf course reach. Project goals are: 1) Remove Golf Club Hill Road, a documented stressor to habitat conditions and fish passage, and replace with a bridge sized at a minimum to meet stream simulation standard, 2) Increase habitat resilience in the "Keta Park" and "Golf Course" reaches upstream and downstream from Golf Club Hill Road, 3) Provide adequate sediment and wood storage through increased floodplain area - trap sediment and debris moving down Chico Creek, 4) Use increased floodplain storage and enhanced channel and floodplain roughness to attenuate flood peaks moving downstream, 5) Increase salmon rearing, spawning, and resting habitat by providing channel complexity (perennial side channels and off channel areas) through the use of in-stream wood structures and appropriately sized active floodplain. Kitsap County Public Works will remove the 3 box culvert located under Golf Club Hill Road and replace it with a bridge to further restore the floodplain.
This project is referenced in the Chico Watershed Assessment for the Identification of Protection and Restoration Actions (2014) as actions C.6 and C.7.
Project was proposed for funding for the 2017-19 Biennium in both the PSAR large cap and Fish Passage Barrier Removal Board proposals.
Summary: This project is in the progress of completion. The bridge was constructed and began transporting vehicles in 2019. The culvert was removed, and substantial in-stream work within the right of way completed in 2020. Remaining habitat work (designed with the project) is scheduled to be completed in 2021. The remaining Brian Abbot FBRB funds are to be combined with SRFB funds in grant 19-1390. This funding will be utilized for the remaining work.
Problems: Just prior to the start of the covid 19 pandemic, the project manager quit the county position. The project suffered from lack of management, in addition to the challenges of working remotely. The county requested and was granted a time extension in late 2020. Grant management has shifted from Public Works Department to the Community Development Department.
