DESCRIPTION
This project treated approximately 25 miles of Forest Service roads in the Sauk River basin in order to reduce sediment impacts to salmon-bearing streams. The target area included the Dan Creek Watershed Administrative Unit (WAU) and the portion of the Sauk Prairie WAU that drains into the Sauk River. Roads have increased sediment delivery above natural levels in these WAUs, primarily by increasing mass wasting rates. For this reason, the Skagit Watershed Council specifically identified reduction in sediment supply as a high priority for these areas.
Field inventories were used to identify project sites. Road segments were rated as high risk if they have the potential to cause a mass wasting event that could deliver sediment directly to key habitat. High risk segments were treated by removing or upgrading stream crossings, adding and upgrading drainage structures, and stabilizing or removing road fills on high hazard roads. Approximately 15 miles of roads were put into storage (decommissioning), which involved restoring natural drainage patterns by removing all culverts and installing water bars, and removing all road fill material from drainage crossings and unstable slopes. Approximately 10 miles were upgraded to meet current forest practices standards, which included replacing undersized and degraded culverts with new properly-sized culverts, intalling new culverts where needed, removing road fill material from drainage crossings and unstable slopes, and grading and surfacing.
This project benefited most of the streams with salmon habitat in the target area. In the Dan Creek WAU, this included Dan Creek, streams 1087,1088,1089, portions of the Sauk River mainstem, and several off-channel habitat areas (Hyachuck ponds area, Dan Slough, and others). In the Sauk Prairie WAU, this included Gravel, Dutch, Green, and Everett Creeks and portions of the Sauk slough. All species that utilize these streams benefited, including pink, chum, coho, chinook, cutthroat, steelhead, and native char.