DESCRIPTION
Remove an abandoned railroad bridge spanning lower Woods Creek immediately upstream of Al Borlin Park in Monroe. Fish production in this reach is limited by low amounts of instream wood structures, unstable banks, high sediment loading in the water, and shallow pools. The creosote trestle RR bridge degrades water quality, disrupts stream processes, and sometimes creates a fish passage barrier when wood racks up on the pilings. Future restoration also includes constructing engineered log jams, placing tree root wads and logs in the creek and on its banks, controlling invasive weeds, and replanting the creek banks. Lower Woods Creek is within the Skykomish River floodplain and provides crucial off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead, both are species listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act; for coho salmon, which is a federal species of concern; and for chum and pink salmon.
This request is for the final phase of this project in which a defunct creosote railroad (RR) bridge will be removed and the site will be restored. This project is a result of two prior RCO grants 16-1639 and 20-1135 in which cultural resources, permitting, and final designs were completed. This project will remove a wooden creosote RR trestle that spans lower Woods Cr. and restore the surrounding areas through the installation of LWD and riparian vegetation as specified in the attached Chinook Engineering designs. The abandoned railroad bridge contains over 60 creosote-treated log pilings, creosote-treated logs threaten the fitness of salmonids, particularly at the egg and juvenile life-history stage by leaching highly toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The RR bridge degrades water quality, disrupts stream processes, and creates a fish passage barrier when large quantities of debris rack up on its pilings. Lower Woods Cr. is within the Skykomish River floodplain and provides crucial off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile Chinook and other salmonids from both Woods Cr. and the Skykomish River. Chinook salmon use is documented in lower Woods Cr. for spawning as well as rearing. According to the Woods Cr. Habitat Conditions Report (2013), fish production in this reach is limited by low LWD volumes and frequency. Wood that regularly racks up on the bridge is periodically removed, often entirely from the system, only to exacerbate the downstream lack of LWD.
