DESCRIPTION
This project will develop permit level designs for the construction of 7-10 engineered log jams in the confluence of the Beckler River and the South Fork Skykomish. The goal of the constructed project will be to reconnect the lower Beckler River to its historic alluvial fan. Restoring historic structural elements (LWD) to the reach will alter sediment routing and sorting patterns, dissipate flood flows, and increase channel roughness, all of which will increase habitat complexity in the reach, benefiting salmonid populations. This project is a collaboration between the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Wild Fish Conservancy, and King County.
Over the course of this project WFC engineers and ecologists developed restoration treatment designs for the project site that include using Engineered Log Jams (ELJs) to capture and retain sediment in the mainstem of the Beckler river channel, which when implemented, will improve aquatic habitat diversity and reconnect the channel to its historic floodplain. The project site is located in the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, near the confluence with the Skykomish River, just north of the town of Skykomish. The designs developed in this project are an important step towards the development of a restoration treatment for the alluvial fan of the Beckler River. The future restoration project will improve instream habitat conditions for all native fish species, including ESA listed Chinook salmon, Steelhead and Bull Trout, which all use this reach. The project will also improve connectivity between the river and its floodplain, likely resulting in the development of off channel habitat, which serves as important rearing habitat for coho salmon as well as flood refugia habitat for all juvenile salmonids.