In June of 2014, Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation (MSRF) was finalizing our project completion narrative for projects completed in Upper Beaver Creek. The draft started out “After nearly 15 years of projects, by more than a dozen sponsors and partners, we are almost done with our restoration work on Beaver Creek.” However, this long-anticipated achievement changed dramatically in July 2014 with a one-two punch from devastating fires and subsequent floods and debris flows on Beaver Creek and Frazer Creek, a primary tributary. MSRF staff completed multiple site visits over the next two months to identify where completed projects were directly impacted by fire or flood and potential sites where we expected additional impacts to occur based on observable damages. The US Forest Service (USFS) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team was concurrently completing a larger emergency response evaluation for the burn area and Washington Department of Transportation (DOT) was evaluating actions needed to re-open and stabilize segments of WA State Highway 20 damaged in the fire zone. DOT was also leading efforts to restore a number of private access connections to the highway that crossed Frazer Creek. Repair efforts were initiated by DOT in early August, but were quickly challenged by rain-on-burn-area flooding in mid-August. In response to the second wave of flooding impacts, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) requested MSRF’s assistance in securing funding to increase the capacity of culverts / bridges needed to restore the damaged private crossings. (For an interesting view, http://vimeo.com/104463724 is a aerial video of the area’s fire and flood damage. Frazer Creek is featured from minutes 1:08 through 4:5) RCO Phase I: On September 8, 2014, MSRF made an on-site presentation to members of the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) and a group of other agency and emergency response staff to seek funding support to replace five failed crossings on Frazer Creek. The request was outside of the normal Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) funding solicitation process, but was well received and funding was secured in short order with a contract signed on October 23, 2014. Work was started immediately and the first set of bridges was largely completed before snowfall in November 2014. MSRF used awarded funding from the RCO to replace five damaged and/or buried culverts with bridges on Frazer Creek, a tributary to Beaver Creek and the Methow River, which contains ESA-listed steelhead, bull trout and resident trout. The initial five bridges of Phase 1 are detailed below. The first site (Maltais) used Family Forest Fish Passage Program (FFFPP) funds to replace a buried culvert with a 50-foot steel bridge. The bridge site has now weathered four full years well with no deformation or fish passage concerns. MSRF completed adaptive repairs below the bridge in 2019 to address erosion concerns identified by the landowner. Sites two through five (Miller, Risley, Bauer and Kartevold) utilized SRFB and WA DOT funds to replace four culverts, downstream of the FFFPP site, with 40-foot steel bridges. All bridges were manufactured by RTI Fabrication of Plains, Montana. Engineering for the bridge siting and placement was provided by Chinook Engineering of Coupeville, Washington. No additional work has been required at Risley or Bauer. Clearing of flood debris was required at Miller in 2015, but not since. The Kartevold bridge has been stable and has not required any adaptive repairs to maintain access. Bed incision has been a concern below the new bridge, and adaptive repairs may be needed to maintain fish passage if incision continues. RCO Phase 2: During the first Phase 1 efforts, MSRF and DOT identified the need for five additional crossings to be replaced. In November 2014, MSRF sought funding for replacement of four additional culverts on Frazer Creek and one on Beaver Creek that WDFW identified as undersized for the post fire conditions. Two of these culverts (Barker and Keifer/Lazy K) were fully blocked by rain event flood flows in August resulting in channel degradation that limited fish passage after the event. As a result, these two sites (worksites #6 & #7) were identified as the highest priority for additional culvert to bridge project actions for Frazer Creek and funds were requested / received from RCO to add them to the grant. Funding for the other two on Frazer Creek (Parker and Worthington) and the one on Beaver Creek (Stokes) was received from the Colville Tribes. Because the crossings at Barker and Keifer/Lazy K both failed during flooding, both sites required extensive site restoration to allow a new crossing to be constructed. The additional damages substantially increased the cost and complexity of the final RCO bridges. At Barker, a 70-foot bridge was manufactured by Big R Bridge of Greely Colorado. Site engineering was performed by Chinook Engineering. MSRF designed the bridge to be located in the same location as the original crossing. Late in design, an auto accident occurred near this location, prompting the owner to request that we shift the location to provide greater line of sight visibility. The change required extensive earthwork moving, which the landowner ultimately paid for. The final placement provides space for split channel flow below the bridge, which could not have been accommodated at the original crossing site. The final crossing site (Keifer/Lazy K) suffered the most significant erosion of any of the sites on Frazer Creek. Following the blockage of the crossing culvert, the creek avulsed through the residential site and shifted the thalwag as much as 90 feet away from the original channel alignment. A 60-foot Big R bridge was sited to provide access. Engineering was provided by Chinook Engineering. Substantial bank complexity revetment was installed at the site to reduce the risk of further avulsion around the new bridge. The newly installed bridges provide improved juvenile and adult fish passage and allow for larger stream flows that mobilize streambed materials and debris to move through the five crossings than would have been provided by the 72” diameter culverts proposed by WA DOT. The bridges lessen the erosive capabilities of high stream flows through the crossings and lessen the threat of flooding and damage to the crossings themselves. Final re-vegetation will be performed in 2019 under separate funding.