Restoration proposed for Elochoman area

Restoration is being proposed for an area just north of Cathlamet that touches on the Elochoman River, Foster Road and the Elochoman Mainline. Columbia Land Trust, with funding from Bonneville Power Administration is proposing to turn farmland back into what it once had been--a tidally influenced freshwater wetland.

Last year, the Washington Department of Transportation removed tide gates and installed larger culverts nearby. The project improved access for water and fish.

The plan includes the removal of a low levee along the Elochoman River as well as filling in ditches, digging tidal channels, and planting native vegetation. BPA believes that the restoration will “improve habitat for 13 Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmon and steelhead species and ESA-listed eulachon (smelt), as well as other fish and wild life species.

BPA is requesting public comment on the project until April 4, 2016. BPA will analyze the information they gather this spring to make a decision. The project, if accepted, could begin this summer.

Submit comments to Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs - DKE-7, PO Box 14428, Portland, OR 97291-4428, call 800-622-4519, or go online at http://www.bpa.gov/comment.