DESCRIPTION
The Finn Cr. estuary was filled in the early 1900s. Building on WFC'sSRFB-funded Preliminary Design project, WFC and partners Kitsap County Parksand Great Peninsula Conservancy will implement the next phase of an acquisition+ restoration project to recover the natural processes in lower Finn Creek thatcreate and sustain habitats used by wild fish populations. These natural processesinclude fish passage; sediment sorting, scour, delivery, and longshore drift; riparianshading, filtering, and bank stability; and large wood recruitment.The project team will prepare final designs, permit applications, detailed costestimates, and an acquisition purchase or option agreement for the restoration ofthe Finn Creek estuary within Hansville's Norwegian Point County Park. The projectgoal is to prepare a shovel-ready acquisition and restoration project for funding in asubsequent SRFB, PSAR, or ESRP round. To that end, GPC is exploring its abilityto contribute acquisition matching funds via an existing RCO Waiver of Retroactivity(#18-48). Additional matching funds for construction may be available from KitsapCounty.Objectives include:1. Perform nearshore drift analysis to inform estuary restoration design;2. Finalize restoration designs and detailed cost estimates for each projectelement;3. Complete permit applications;4. Prepare acquisition proposal,
Restoration of the Finn Creek estuary is a Tier 1 project (West Sound Nearshore Int. and Synthesis, 2016). Building on Wild Fish Conservancy's (WFC) earlier design work (16-1596), WFC and partners Kitsap County Parks and Blue Coast Engineering implemented the next phase of the project to restore the Finn Creek estuary in Hansville's Norwegian Point County Park. The project team prepared updated preliminary designs and an updated preliminary design report to remove a 300ft long culvert/tide gate and enhance the Finn Creek estuary. The project goals are to restore access for spawning to coho, steelhead, chum, and cutthroat trout and provide critical estuarine rearing habitat for those species, along with Chinook and forage fish. Public education and engagement opportunities are substantial within the County Park.
The original scope of work was to develop a final design and included securing a title report and an acquisition purchase or option agreement for a park-adjacent 1.3 acre vacant private parcel. During the course of the project, the team identified a significant hydraulic design constraint that was not identified during the earlier design phase. Consequently, the team completed additional analyses and downscoped the project to complete an updated preliminary design. The landowner willingness component of the project became unnecessary and was removed. It is now being accomplished in-kind by the park-adjacent landowner and Kitsap County Parks who are working through a land exchange agreement.
