County, land trust to address drainage issue

Wahkiakum County and the Columbia Land Trust agreed Tuesday to work cooperatively to find a solution to drainage problems plaguing landowners at the end of Nelson Creek.

The small creek comes out of the hills by Longtain Road and enters the Elochoman River near the SR 4 bridge. Land along the creek was once used for beef and dairy farming. Now, siltation and beaver dams have plugged the creek and backed up waters onto the farm lands, killing trees and making the land unusable for livestock.

The drainage system in the area has several problems, Ian Sinks, conservation director for the Columbia Land Trust, one of the area property owners, said Tuesday. One is a culvert in the county's Risk Road; it is one foot higher on the downstream end than it is on the upstream end.

The culvert elevation is 5' at the upstream end, and further downstream are two beaver dams with an elevation of 9'.

"It's hard to get water to flow uphill," said Pete Ringen, Wahkiakum County Public Works Director.

Ringen said that before he came to work for the county, the county road crew would periodically clean out the creek channel, which borders the Nelson Creek dike road.

However, agencies such as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have tightened policies on work in water that could be fish habitat, and the county hasn't been able to get permits to clean the channel.

"We need permits to do the work," Ringen said. "They make it so difficult to get the permits."

Including measures to enhance fish habitat significantly increases the cost of projects, he added.

"A simple ditch cleaning becomes a huge project for the county," he said.

Commissioner Dan Cothren suggested that the Land Trust, which is in operation to restore salmon habitat, work with the county to obtain permits or find another solution.

The upland timber companies are using fish-friendly forest practices, Cothren said, but it all goes for naught if fish can't get past the beaver dams.

"The land owners are harmed," Cothren said. "We need to be able to partner to get these projects where they need to be."

Sinks said he wasn't sure what project could be proposed but he is willing to work with the county to find a solution.

Commissioners and Sinks agreed to invite permit processors from the WDFW and US Army Corps of Engineers to a meeting to go over the situation and look for a solution to the drainage issue.