More than 140 local fish and flood projects have been completed across the Chehalis River Basin, coordinated and funded through the Office of Chehalis Basin (OCB).
The OCB board is composed of local officials as well as tribal and environmental representatives.
These projects are done in cooperation with the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, local governments, tribes and the Aquatic Species Restoration team. Together, these projects are part of the Chehalis Basin Strategy to restore aquatic species and to reduce flood damage for families and communities.
This article is part of an ongoing series highlighting projects that have been completed in the basin. The Chronicle has partnered with the Office of Chehalis Basin for this series. Read previous installments at chronline.com.
Project summary
This project to restore aquatic species habitat is located on the Middle Fork Wildcat Creek in Grays Harbor County. For years, undersized culverts on the creek have prevented resident and migratory species such as coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout from reaching important habitat for rearing and spawning. Wildcat Creek, located north of the town of McCleary, is a tributary of Cloquallum Creek, which feeds into the Chehalis River.
To help restore this critical habitat, the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force and Grays Harbor County Public Works Department worked together to remove three undersized culverts on Summit, Elma Hicklin and County Line roads, and replace them with concrete bridges that span the stream channel.
This project is part of the Chehalis Basin Strategy’s Aquatic Species Restoration Plan, designed to protect and restore more than 550 miles of prioritized habitat for salmon, steelhead and other aquatic species.
The challenge
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) identified 11 undersized culverts to be replaced on Middle Fork Wildcat Creek due to their negative impacts on fish passage and impairing the natural connectivity of the creek. Eight culvert barriers had already been removed, yet three remained, continuing to keep coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout from reaching quality rearing and spawning habitat. In addition, these culverts also caused localized flood damage as debris and water would build up behind the culverts during high water events.
The Project
WDFW engaged the task force and Grays Harbor County Public Works to remove the final three culverts. Since 2005, the task force has helped invest $27.6 million to remove or correct 81 barriers blocking fish passage in the Chehalis River Basin, including 41 barriers located on county roads.
The task force and county worked to replace the culverts with concrete bridges that are passable for all native aquatic species at all of their life stages. They will also accommodate expected higher peak flows due to climate change.
The Summit Road bridge crossing the creek is 43 feet long while the Elma Hicklin and County Line road bridges are 46 feet long each.
This winter, the task force and county will place woody debris along the stream bank to provide refuge and plant three acres of native vegetation to provide shade and keep water temperatures cool for fish.
In total, this Aquatic Species Restoration Plan project will open over 4 miles of forested rearing and spawning habitat up for coho salmon, and steelhead and cutthroat trout.
The project cost is $1.7 million, with $1.3 million from the Chehalis Basin Strategy and $424,000 from Grays Harbor County.
The task force and county designed the project and received permits for the project starting in 2022. Work to replace the culverts began in summer 2023.
Additional Information
Location: Grays Harbor County, Black Hills Ecological Region, Cloquallum Creek (a near-term priority area)
Sponsor: Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force
Landowner: Gray Harbor County
Parting thoughts:
“Working with the task force has aided the county with upgrading our water crossing to meet fish passage standards in a cost effective and timely manner. There have been a lot of improvements to the Middle Fork Wildcat Creek basin recently. We are excited to remove the final three culverts and add to the improvements of others in the watershed.”
“Compared to similarly sized projects, this project has good cost-benefit ratio due to low engineering and construction costs. These projects, as well as others with the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force have been beneficial from both a roads and fish passage perspectives.”
- John Becker, acting Grays Harbor County engineer
