Goodbye isthmus,hello salmon:new bridge, channel restores flow at Kilisut Harbor – Kitsap Sun

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Al Bergstein

The flip side of fighting to protect the environment from exploitation is to restore the environment. One of the leaders in that is NOSC. Here’s the outcome of their latest major project.


Young salmon, twisting and flapping their way from the torrents of the Puget Sound en route to the Pacific Ocean, have endured a manmade detour for the past 75 years.  An earthen causeway at the south end of Kilisut Harbor, installed in the 1940s to connect Marrowstone and Indian islands in Jefferson County, has kept the keystone species from quick access to 2,300 acres of prime habitat in which to rest and forage. “It’s basically a gigantic buffet between the two islands,” said Rebecca Benjamin, executive director of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. “But the salmon couldn’t get there.” Josh Farley reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Goodbye isthmus, hello salmon: new bridge, channel restores flow at Kilisut Harbor

Filed under: Jefferson County, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Places | Tagged: , | Comments Off on Goodbye isthmus,hello salmon:new bridge, channel restores flow at Kilisut Harbor – Kitsap Sun

Pope Resources, Port Gamble S’Klallam negotiating conservation easement – North Kitsap Herald

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Al Bergstein

More good news and work towards a restoration of our waters.

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe is in line to receive a $1.5 million grant from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, or ESRP. According to Fish and Wildlife, the Tribe would use the grant and other funds “to protect the mill site from future development with a conservation easement … for the purpose of restoration, returning the site to a more natural state for future generations.” The site is across Port Gamble Bay from Point Julia and the Port Gamble S’Klallam reservation, where the S’Klallam people relocated after the mill was established in 1853. The Tribe and Pope Resources are working together “to develop a vision for the future of the site that includes restoration, a park setting and recognition of Tribal history,” according to Fish and Wildlife. Richard Walker reports. (North Kitsap Herald)

http://www.northkitsapherald.com/news/366496231.html

Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pope Resources, Port Gamble S’Klallam negotiating conservation easement – North Kitsap Herald

Twelve Washington projects receive state grants to restore shorelines – Maple Valley Reporter

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Al Bergstein

It is great to see the work being done around the Sound to restore some of the 150 years of destruction to our shorelines. These funds are going to local jobs, restoring beaches, streams and more, as well as helping to do what best available current science says will help to restore fish, shellfish and other sea life along the nearshore. All these projects were ground up based designs, with local non profits and governments helping put the grants together. If you are a fisherman or a beach harvester you should be happy with this work. Thanks to WDFW for continuing to find the funds to help do this. If you live in one of these areas, and are affiliated with the project, be sure to get still and video photography of the projects in action.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has begun distributing $8.2 million in funding for 12 local projects designed to protect and restore the natural shorelines around Puget Sound…. [Projects include:] Jefferson Co. Discovery Bay Restoration ($257,862), Kilisut Harbor Restoration ($2,000,000), West Dabob Bay Restoration ($527,000); King Co. Maury Island Restoration ($1,586,712 – Federal EPA grant funds and ESRP state capital funding provided); Mason Co. Beard’s Cove Restoration ($409,000 – Funded with federal EPA grant dollars), Skokomish Delta Restoration ($1,231,929); Kitsap Co. Teekalet and Port Gamble Restoration ($1,500,000); Snohomish Co. Railroad Grade Beach Nourishment ($99,010); Thurston Co. Bulkhead Removal Planning ($86,684); Thurston/Pierce Cos. Restoring Sediment Supply to Sustain Delta Marsh ($350,000); Puget Sound-Wide: Prioritization for Bluffline Structure Protection ($149,621), Identifying Target Beaches for Restoration and Protection ($34,685 partial funding)…. Funding distributed by WDFW through those programs comes from a combination of state capital funds and federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (Maple Valley Reporter)

http://www.maplevalleyreporter.com/news/360968671.html

Filed under: Around the Sound, Puget Sound | Tagged: , | Comments Off on Twelve Washington projects receive state grants to restore shorelines – Maple Valley Reporter

Port Gamble Bay Cleanup About to Begin – WSDOE

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Photo WA St. DOE

Photo WA St. DOE

A long-awaited cleanup of Port Gamble Bay is just about ready to launch. Work is scheduled to start Monday, with the removal of old pilings treated with toxic creosote.

A number of other piers, docks and other structures also will be removed as the project progresses, and contaminated sediments and other muck will be dug out of the bay or capped with clean material.

The project is expected to continue into early 2017 and really provide a boost for the bay’s health — and for the Puget Sound environment in general.

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Port Gamble Bay Cleanup About to Begin – WSDOE

New video – Restoration on the Dungeness River

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Just completed and launched the video ” Working for the River: Restoring the Dungeness”.  Shot over the last 6 months.

The Dungeness River flows from the Olympic Mountains, down through the Sequim Valley, and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Dungeness Bay. It drains a watershed area of almost 270 square miles. While recent returns of Pink salmon to the Dungeness have been robust, a variety of human activities over the past century has resulted in the listing of four other Dungeness salmon stocks as threatened under ESA. This film tells the story of some of the efforts to restore the river over the last 25 years –by landowners, farmers, tribes, irrigation districts, and other partners– and how you can help.

This is the long version, 15+ minutes but has the complete story.

This is the short version, 7  minutes.

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

New shoreline restoration project in Jefferson County – NW Straits.org

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Al Bergstein

It was a blustery day when Jefferson MRC members, Northwest Straits Commission and Northwest Straits Foundation staff, and others recently toured the site of beach restoration planned at Fort Townsend State Park. The MRC is partnering with Washington State Parks and the Foundation to restore shoreline that has been dramatically altered by rip rap, decommissioned military wharves, and related construction. Spawning herring and surf smelt have been documented close by.

The project design is now out for bid; work will restore forage fish habitat and improve access to the beach for kayakers and other visitors.

www.nwstraits.org

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on New shoreline restoration project in Jefferson County – NW Straits.org

Peninsula salmon projects get $4.5 million – PDN

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Lots of good projects that are going to give jobs to folks here on the Peninsula, and help restore salmon habitat. The work is far from being completed, but it’s good to see these projects and land purchases get funded. Tying this together with the work described by Earth Economics over the weekend on this site, it’s worth it to note that there is value in these ecosystem renewal projects. Slowing the rivers by putting in log jams, for example, do not just provide scientifically proven habitat for salmon (especially young salmon migrating downstream), but they also aide in flood protection among other benefits. Flood plain protection is a value that lowers the cost to repairing damage from floods over multiple decades.

The state has awarded $4.5 million in grants for new salmon restoration projects on the North Olympic Peninsula. ….

Rob Ollikainen reports.

There’s quite a bit more to the story at:

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20131208/NEWS/312089997/peninsula-salmon-projects-get-45-million

 

Support local journalism, subscribe to the Peninsula Daily News.

Filed under: Around the Sound, Government, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Salmon | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Peninsula salmon projects get $4.5 million – PDN

EVENT: Sept 21st in PA – Peabody Creek Restoration

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Al Bergstein

EVENT: Sept 21st in PA - Peabody Creek Restoration

Want a chance to get outside and do some good for your ‘hood? Here you go.

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on EVENT: Sept 21st in PA – Peabody Creek Restoration

Groups Set On Twin Rivers Restoration–PDN

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Al Bergstein

Another possible restoration of the shoreline from past industrial work. Helps restore for benefit of some of the best steelhead runs left.

JOYCE — Multiple agencies, both public and private, want to restore a chunk of land roughly 20 miles west of Joyce and are planning a community meeting to update local residents on the status of the project.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120917/NEWS/309179996/0/SEARCH

Filed under: Projects | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Groups Set On Twin Rivers Restoration–PDN

Return of the kings! Chinook salmon observed in undammed portion of Elwha River – Park & PDN

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Al Bergstein

As the old saying goes, “nature abhors a vacuum”. The Olympic National Park have announced (and reported and commented on by The Peninsula Daily News) that chinook (King) salmon have been spotted above the site of the lower of the two dams that have been removed. This is the first time in almost a century that they have been able to reach this location. In addition to the Kings, Steelhead have also been seen in above the first dam.

The power of restoration again shows that once a place has been restored, nature tries and fill it, if the species still are alive.

The news bulletin from the park
http://www.nps.gov/olym/parknews/return-of-the-kings.htm

Additional information on the story at the PDN.

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120821/NEWS/308219989/return-of-the-kings-chinook-salmon-observed-in-undammed-portion-of

Filed under: Olympic Peninsula | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Return of the kings! Chinook salmon observed in undammed portion of Elwha River – Park & PDN

Work underway to return Olympia oysters to Port Gamble Bay – Kitsap Sun

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Al Bergstein

More efforts underway for restoration of the Sound natives:

Efforts of the nonprofit Puget Sound Restoration Fund are adding Olympia oysters and kelp near Point Julia in Port Gamble Bay, bringing back a native species and underwater forest that supports the local ecosystem. A team of nine full- and part-time staff began the first portion of the restoration project in late June for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, when divers placed 1,200 feet of natural-fiber ropes seeded with young bull kelp plants.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/aug/18/work-underway-to-return-olympia-oysters-to-port/

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Work underway to return Olympia oysters to Port Gamble Bay – Kitsap Sun

Restoration work planned on Ediz Hook this summer – PDN

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Al Bergstein

Habitat restoration is planned on a 1,200-foot stretch of Ediz Hook this summer. The Lower Elwha ­Klallam tribe and state Department of Natural Resources will restore the “A-frame” site on the spit, a former log dump area that was used until the 1970s. It will be cleared of fill and existing structures during an eight-week period starting June 16.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120506/news/305069980/restoration-work-planned-on-ediz-hook-this-summer

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Restoration work planned on Ediz Hook this summer – PDN

Olympia Oyster hatchery to be built in Manchester

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Al Bergstein

The effort to restore native Olympia oysters to Puget Sound will take an important step forward later this year, when a permanent oyster hatchery will be built in Manchester. The 1,500-square-foot hatchery — designed to produce up to 1 million baby oysters a year — will be constructed at Manchester Research Station, a federal facility operated by Northwest Fisheries Science Center. Oyster hatchery to be built at Manchester Research Station

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/apr/20/oyster-hatchery-to-be-built-at-manchester/

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on Olympia Oyster hatchery to be built in Manchester

Restored wetlands no match for real thing

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Al Bergstein

Samuel P. Schuchat, executive director of the Coastal Conservancy,
left, walks through the Ballona Wetlands during a conservancy tour of
the natural reserve in Marina del Rey. New studies show that wetlands
do not quickly return to their original vitality once destroyed or
altered. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times / January 19, 2012)
By Bettina Boxall
February 1, 2012, 1:23 p.m.
How easy is it to recreate nature? When it comes to wetlands, the
answer seems to be "not very."
A new paper examining data from more than 600 restored or man-made
wetlands found that in key ways, they don’t measure up to the real
thing.

Read the whole story at

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/environment/la-me-gs-restored-wetlands-no-
match-for-natural-20120201,0,7166919.story

Link to the PLOS Biology study:
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001248

Restoration of Ailing Wetlands

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on Restored wetlands no match for real thing

%d