DESCRIPTION
Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) and partners completed preliminary designs to restore natural processes in the downstream-most 1,200 feet of Finn Creek where it is ditched adjacent to Norwegian Point County Park in Hansville, WA. The park was purchased by the County in 2009 through a matching ALEA grant which included a commitment to restore the stream and wetlands on the site. A water type assessment of Finn Creek in 2012 (WFC) documented native coastal cutthroat trout and stickleback upstream from the barrier culvert/tidegate at the mouth. Conceptual designs for the restoration project have been completed. This project produced Preliminary Design drawings and design reports for a project that will benefit natural stream and nearshore processes at the site. Priority species directly or indirectly supported by this project include Puget Sound Chinook (nearshore), steelhead, coho, and chum salmon.
Specific habitat design elements included: remove a full barrier culvert / tide gate at the stream mouth, restoring fish access to almost two miles of the watershed; removing the culvert obstructing nearshore sediment transport; restoring tidal inundation at the stream mouth; and naturalizing the ditched reach through Norwegian Point County Park. This project received Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Funds from Fiscal Years 13, 14, and 16. All funds were spend within the appropriate award period.