DESCRIPTION
This third phase of a larger restoration project was completed in 2014 on the Greenwater River near the town of Greenwater in Pierce County Washington. Phase I and phase II (completed in 2010 and 2011, respectively) collectively installed 13 mid-channel engineered log jams and removed nearly a mile of forest road from the floodplain. Phase 3 installed 4 additional jams in a 0.5 mile reach of stream downstream of the phase I and phase II project sites. All disturbed areas were revegetated with native plants. This project supports previous efforts in this reach of the Greenwater River to create large stable structures that will trap mobile debris and sediment, increase floodplain connectivity and off channel habitat, increase number of pools with overhead cover, decrease median substrate size, and overall improve spawning and rearing conditions for salmonids in the Greenwater River. Anadromous fish species benefiting from this project include White River spring Chinook Salmon, Bull Trout, steelhead, Coho Salmon, Pink Salmon, and coastal Cutthroat Trout.
South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group (SPSSEG) completed the third phase of a restoration project on the Greenwater River near the town of Greenwater in Pierce County Washington. Phase I and phase II (completed in 2010 and 2011, respectively) collectively installed 13 mid-channel engineered log jams and removed nearly a mile of forest road from the floodplain. Phase 3 installed 4 additional jams in a 0.5 mile reach of stream downstream of the phase I and phase II project sites. All disturbed areas were revegetated with native plants. SPSSEG originally planned to install 5 jams within a 1 mile reach, but the fifth jam was excluded as the impacts associated with access through the riparian area outweighed the benefits of the log jam. This project supports previous efforts in this reach of the Greenwater River to create large stable structures that will trap mobile debris and sediment, increase floodplain connectivity and off channel habitat, increase number of pools with overhead cover, decrease median substrate size, and overall improve spawning and rearing conditions for salmonids in the Greenwater River. Anadromous fish species benefiting from this project include White River spring Chinook Salmon, Bull Trout, steelhead, Coho Salmon, Pink Salmon, and coastal Cutthroat Trout.
