The Friday Creek Road Stability project is located off of Frankie Bob Road just south of Alger. Three cedar trees had fallen into Friday Creek increasing the damage to the property owner's only access bridge to 40 acres of property and continuing to erode the family cemetery by directing flow and increasing the scour potential in the stream bed. The objective of the project was to 1) Stop erosion of the stream banks the re-positioning of fallen trees in the stream and bank grading measures 2) Restore riparian habitat adjacent to Friday Creek with the removal of invasive species and the planting of new native ones.

This project included the removal of two of the three trees that had fallen in the creek and using them as bank stabilizers elsewhere in the stream. One of the removed cedars was placed to protect the right bank which was placed with its top facing upstream so the intact branches would slow the flow of the stream and encourage sediment accumulation. The second removed cedar was placed downstream as a channel spanning structure. The cedar that fell highest on the stream was kept in place with the root-wad intact but the top removed (with a large portion still resting on the bank) and used for stability behind the root-wads. Another root-wad was placed along the left bank to protect the hollow left from when the cedar trees fell from eroding further.

This project also including the removal of invasive vegetation, mainly Himalayan Blackberry as well as a re-grading of the slope along the left bank of the stream. The area was then replanted with native vegetation to 35 feet away from the ordinary high water mark. Flow was diverted around the construction site when the trees were moved and/or manipulated. Site maintenance will continue through 2014.

Final designs and permit documents were developed for this project as part a Department of Ecology grant (WA120309-6-7). The Friday Creek Road Stability design project was lead by Skagit County Public Works (SCPW) with the goal of design and permitting restoration actions to improve riparian habitat along approximately 180 feet of Friday Creek. This project was part of the Natural Resource Stewardship Program with SCPW.