The primary goal of this project was to design restoration actions that will address early chinook-limiting factors of low habitat diversity and key habitat (primary pools) and high temperatures in the South Fork Nooksack River (Nuxw7íem) Black Slough Reach. This project advanced project implementation in the lower South Fork Nooksack River (from Skookum Creek downstream of the confluence), which is the highest priority geographic area for restoration for the SF chinook population, by developing designs for restoration of the South Fork Black Slough Reach (RM 1.9-3.2). The project reach presents an important opportunity to create temperature refuges by forming pools in areas of cool-water inputs, including Black Slough (a cool-water tributary which drains a historically extensive floodplain wetland complex) and one of a handful of groundwater discharge zones identified in the lower South Fork. In addition, the Black Slough reach is equidistant from the Van Zandt (0.9 - 1.4) and Todd/Sygitowicz (RM 3.7 - 4.2) reaches where log jam projects were implemented in 2008 and 2010. Restoring habitat conditions within the Black Slough Reach would increase the quantity and quality of pools and complex woody cover, will fill the gap between the two project reaches, thereby improving the extent and connectivity of important summer holding refuge in the lower South Fork, and ultimately SF Nooksack early chinook abundance and productivity. Specifically, the design project accomplished: (1) extensive landowner outreach with multiple stakeholders; (2) a conceptual reach-scale design that presents optimal and proposed restoration scenarios; (3) a preliminary design with basis of design report, flood risk analysis, and cost estimates for Phase 1 of construction of engineered log jams (ELJs); and (4) preliminary Phase 1 designs (considered final) for construction of Phase 1 ELJs. The ELJ's are designed to: 1. Increase habitat diversity (i.e. increase quantity of complex wood cover in low-flow channel, increase habitat unit diversity); 2. Increase key habitat quantity (increase number and depth of pools for holding and rearing, number of pool tailouts for spawning); 3. Increase habitat quantity and quality in potential thermal refuge areas; and 4. Increase floodplain connectivity.