The Lower Nooksack River Project was a multi-partner effort to evalate multiple alternatives and provide conceptual designs that will lead to one or more projects to restore floodplain connectivity and habitats for salmon, waterfowl and shorebirds and lessen flood risk along two miles of the tidally-influenced lower Nooksack River. The primary objective was to identify feasible options that could maximize restoration of physical and biological processes that support properly functioning habitat in the lower Nooksack River river and delta, identify measures that will lead to removal of impediments to restoration, and evaluate the alternatives for their abilty to reduce flood hazards to roads, public infrastructure, and residential structures. The river through the project reach is currently disconnected from 1200 acres of floodplain and slough habitats by nearly continuous levees on both sides of the Nooksack River. The project included five elements that were considered in the analysis: · Marietta Acquisition · Slater Road Elevation · East Bank WDFW Nooksack Unit (Marietta Slough) Levee Modification Scenarios · Reconfiguration of Marine Drive from Rural Avenue to Lummi Shore Road · West Bank Ferndale Road Levee Setback Scenarios Funds were also used to acquire 14 flood-prone parcels covering 2.1 acres in the community of Marietta. Three other parcels with homes are pending voluntary acquisition under a separate FEMA grant. 30 parcels within the floodprone Marietta area (of a total of ~64 parcels) will remain once the FEMA funded acquisitions are completed. The on-going need to maintain flood protection for the remaining homes pending voluntary acquisition is a key limitation for implementing upstream restoration opportunities. The detailed hydraulic modeling, geomorphic analysis, alternatives analysis and preliminary designs and cost estimates for levee reconfigurations and habitat features in the project reach prepared under this grant agrement provide the foundation to continue public and intergovernmental outreach to build community and landowner support for habitat restoration and implementation of one or more alternatives. They also provide a sound technical footing on which to refine project scopes and objectives in partnership with the Lummi Nation, private landowners and others. This will allow the FCZD and others to move from preliminary designs to buildable project designs that have broad community support. The project deliverables complement, and advance, flood hazard reduction objectives for both Whatcom County and the Lummi Nation and further habitat objectives identified in the WRIA 1 Salmonid Recovery Plan (WRIA 1 SRB, 2005).