County supports habitat restoration project proposals

Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to new plans for culvert and streambank work along the Elochoman and Grays rivers.

The Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) plans to apply for state and federal grants to undertake the projects, said Amy Ammer, CREST habitat restoration specialist. She asked if the commissioners would write letters supporting the projects and grant applications.

Ammer said that without county commission support, she wouldn't pursure the funding grants.

One project, which has been proposed by the county road department, would replace a culvert and water diversion dam on Clear Creek, which enters the Elcohoman across from the state salmon hatchery.

The undersize culvert is in bad shape, with the lower end almost completely submerged. Biologists have said it inhibits passage of anadromous fish, and replacing it with, as the county has proposed, a bridge would open a quarter mile of the creek to spawning or juvenile fish.

One factor which could delay this project is waiting for the Department of Fish and Wildlife to decide what they're going to do with the hatchery. The department has decreed that it will no longer release hatchery fish in the Elochoman and other lower Columbia tributaries, so it isn't necessary to raise fish at the hatchery. However, the hatchery could be used to raise fish for purposes other than releasing salmon into the tributaries.

There is also a question of a water right on Clear Creek, and a private property owner holding the right to the water. Removing the hatchery intake structure would open seven miles of the creek to migratory fish.

Commissioners agreed they wanted to see the Clear Creek project get going.

Other projects would address Grays River erosion problems on land owned by the Gorley, Sorenson and Gudmundsen familes.

The work would involve design and construction of in-stream structures which would control erosion and also benefit salmon populations, Ammer said.

Ammer said the work on the Gorley family property is a continuation of projects already started. The work will improve chum spawning grounds, she said.

The proposed work on the Gudmundsen farm would restore 4,000 feet of eroding river bank and protect the Western Wahkiakum Water System water main that runs nearby.

The proposed work on the Sorenson property would reduce river erosion along Loop Road.

"The Gudmundsens and Sorensons approached me directly about projects," she said.