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Salmon Habitat restored on Lopez Island
Before posted 10/27/2009
Shoal Bay has a rich nearshore marine environment with forage fish spawning beaches, eelgrass, shellfish beds, a sand spit and a coastal lagoon. Pacific herring, surf smelt and multiple species of out-migrating juvenile salmon utilize the project area.
After The restoration project, coordinated by Friends of the San Juans and designed by Coastal Geologic Services of Bellingham, will improve water quality and fish passage conditions at the lagoon. Two dump truck loads of concrete, steel, plastic and wood and nearly 20 truckloads of fill material were removed from the site. The channel was deepened and widened slightly and the slope of the banks was reduced. Lower marsh vegetation was set aside and replanted after the bank and channel reshaping was complete. Dune and salt grasses will be replanted by volunteers in the next few weeks. Post project monitoring of water quality, fish use and channel conditions will be conducted next summer and fall.
Landowners and shellfish farm operators Nick and Sara Jones are pleased with the outcome: "We wish to thank the Friends and Lopez Sand and Gravel for the highly successful restoration project on our Shoal Bay shellfish farm. As shellfish growers we are acutely aware of the importance of a healthy marine environment to the well being of all islanders. "When we purchased the property five years ago we knew something would have to happen to the tide gate structure we inherited with the property. We have witnessed firsthand the impacts of this structure on the function of the lagoon--from fish kills in summer to increased erosion around the structure in winter. "Friends took on the project and guided it through seemingly endless studies and permits. They have been cooperative, respectful and extremely inclusive through the entire process. The actual removal was carefully timed and staged to minimize impact both to the marine life and our ongoing shellfish farming activities. We are delighted with the result aesthetically, and can already discern significant, positive changes to the function of the lagoon. We are profoundly grateful for the positive outcome and the graceful way the Friends handled the entire process." Nick and Sara Jones- Jones Family Farms, Lopez Island Friends of the San Juans wishes to acknowledge and thank the following for their assistance with the project: Lopez Sand and Gravel; Drayton Archaeological Research; Coastal Geologic Services; Wyllie-Echeverria Fisheries and Beach Watcher volunteers. Project funding was provided by the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Community Salmon Fund and the Washington Department of Ecology's Coastal Protection Fund. For more information on Friends' shoreline restoration and protection efforts, call 378-2319. FOSJ restores shorelines on San Juan and Lopez Islandsposted 10/12/2009
"After three years of project identification, landowner outreach, funding requests, project engineering and design, and permitting…it is very rewarding to finally achieve on-the-ground habitat improvements at these two sites." said Tina Whitman, Friends of the San Juans Science Director and Restoration Project Manager.
Before
After San Juan Island Salt Marsh Restoration: Last week, along San Juan Island’s Turn Point Road, an unnecessary rock wall was removed and a critical wetland and potential forage fish spawning beach were restored. After eleven dump truck loads were taken away from the upper beach and salt marsh habitat, clean pea gravel and sand were used to nourish the beach. Impacted wetland plants were then replanted along the new marsh face. The restored beach now provides suitable forage fish spawning substrate and the wetland and the marine environment are reconnected. Jim Johannessen and his staff at Coastal Geologic Services completed the restoration assessments and designs. The project was funded through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant. Friends wishes to thank the landowners, the Ruckelshaus Family, for their willingness to complete the project and provide matching funds for the implementation. Lopez Island Creosote Pile Removal: Two weeks ago, 13 derelict creosote piles were removed from intertidal and shallow subtidal waters within Barlow Bay. Barlow Bay is a priority nearshore marine habitat area with eelgrass, sand lance and surf smelt spawning beaches, and out-migrating juvenile salmon. In 2008, Friends of the San Juans, Coastal Geologic Services and local residents completed a comprehensive community restoration planning process. The removal of the derelict creosote pilings is the first, early action, restoration project to be completed of the many identified in the plan. "Barlow Bay is recovering from it’s hey day, when salmon was king and infrastructure filled the bay. With the help of the Friends of the San Juans, Barlow Bay’s water quality, forage fish spawning beaches, clam and oysters, and eelgrass prairies are benefiting from removal of derelict fishing infrastructure. As a resident of the area, I am delighted to see restoration begin." said Lopez Islander, San Olson, who has helped advance restoration actions in the bay. The project was funded through a National Fish and Wildlife Service’s Community Salmon Fund grant. Friends wishes to thank to the multiple private residential landowners and the Tulalip Tribes for supporting the restoration actions on their tidelands. Friends of the San Juans has numerous additional shoreline habitat restoration projects in the final design, permitting and implementation planning phases and also works on protection projects. For more information visit their website: www.sanjuans.org or call 360-378-2319. |
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