WRIA 8 Lake Washington, Cedar Sammamish Watershed - 2008 Update to 3-Year Work Plan

Background:

The 3-Year Work Plan was first created in 2006 for Puget Sound Shared Strategy to be used for regional review of projects for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and legislative funding requests. It is a sub-set of the actions on the 10-Year Start List in the WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan. Criteria for projects are highest benefit for salmon recovery and also high feasibility - able to implemented in the next three years. The 3-Year Work Plan also contains programmatic actions (land use and public outreach and education), program staffing and adaptive management, and H-integration work.

In 2007the3-Year Work Plan was updated with projects recommended by the Technical Committee and approved by the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council.Restoration projects were added to the 10-Year Start List or to the 3-Year Work Plan for the Issaquah population area because of a change from three to two Chinook populations (WRIA 8 Steering Committee decision, December 2006, based on genetics study).

This year a call for updates was sent on February 15th that included the current project list that has actions totally over $60 million. Five projects were sent in and reviewed by the WRIA 8 Technical Committee on March 5th. The Technical Committee’s recommendation is below. These projects were also discussed at the Implementation Committee meeting on March 11th. The five projects are all in Tier II areas.

2008 Process:

The WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council will review and decide on the recommendations at their March 20th meeting.

The 3-Year Work Plan will be sent to the Puget Sound Partnership on April 18th. Later this spring, Puget Sound Partnership goals will be matched to the actions on 3-Year Work Plan to identify the relationship between salmon and ecosystem goals.

2008 WRIA 8 Three Year Work Plan and 10 Year Start List Revisions DRAFT for SRC March 20, 2008 DRAFT
Proposed Actions - Add to 3-Year Work Plan and /or 10 Year Start List
Action Name / Plan Description / Discussion Notes / 3-Year
List / Add-
10 Year / Completed /
removed
N 411 Little Bear Creek Reach 5
Restoration at Alpine Rockeries / Comprehensive List: SnohomishCounty project to work with Alpine Rockeries to restore riparian vegetation, add large woody debris and potentially reconfigure stream channel on 800 ft. of stream. Notes: Construction to start in 2005. Partially funded. Concern about low IBI scores in this reach. H/H
Notes: Alpine Rockeries Creek Restoration - has not been constructed due to change in ownership but is cited as High benefit and High feasibility in the Plan and much work has already been completed at the site. Additional funding is needed. $75,000 over 3 years.
Technical Committee member said IBI scores would most likely be higher now because of water quality improvements. High benefit from regional analysis – restoration potential high relative to degradation. / X / X
N 385 - Reach 6 Protection through acquisitions. / Start List: North Creek – Protect remaining forest cover and wetlands through CAOs, regulations, and BMPs, incentives and acquisition where regulation and incentives are not sufficient protection. There are undeveloped forested areas and wetlands in the following reaches: Lower North reaches 4,3,2 and upper North reaches 10, 9, 6, 7 (listed in EDT priority order).
Notes: Proposed implementation of North Creek Trail project will allow potential acquisition of several conservation parcels - this is justification for increasing feasibility rating from M to H. $2,000,000 over 3 years. / X
N 386 – North Creek Regional Park Stream Channel Enhancement / Comprehensive List: Enhance North Creek stream channel within NorthCreekRegionalPark and remove dike, reconnect North Creek to floodplain and wetlands. Notes: none H/H.
Notes: NorthCreekRegionalPark stream channel and buffer enhancements. Already has high benefit/high feasibility rating and feasibility analysis has been conducted to guide restoration compatible with existing and future Park uses. $250,000 over 3 years. / X
N378 – NorthCreekSchool (now called Clearwater school) / Comprehensive List: Work with school to do additional riparian restoration, large woody debris addition and side channel enhancements on their property. Notes: none H/H
Notes: One of SnohomishCounty’s top priorities in the last few years. It is rated H/H and scale and scope has expanded in the last year to include an adjacent property which showcases LID development. Grant applications have been submitted but still requires additional funding over and above current requests. $85,000 over 3 years / X / X
N 473 – Reach 3 KelseyCreek
Fish Passage
with N469 and N470 / Comprehensive List: N473 Fish Passage: Reduce jump height at concrete weirs using artificial riffle or other “safer” engineering. Notes: none; H/H
With N469 - Installation of LWD, design and install LWD to provide hydraulic refuge areas during peak flows in stream segments 76-03 through 76-08 of KelseyCreek.
With N270 – Restoration of Riparian Areas: Identify and implement opportunities to plant native coniferous trees in the riparian zones throughout the subarea. First priority should be the mainstem of KelseyCreek.
Notes: Bellevue is starting designs (N473, N469, and N470) for improvements in this areabased on the EDT outcomes and fish passage needs at the weirs. EDT results for Reach 3 show this reach having the highest benefit of the KelseyCreek reaches if fully restored. N473 is the highest priority restoration project for KelseyCreek. / X
Revisions and Completions
M222 – Big Gulch Pocket Estuary / Changes to funding amounts and timelines.
M2 and M3 - Nearshore feasibility assessment
N201 – Lower Bear Creek Restoration
TBD / Completed projects would be removed from the list / X
C210 Riparian Restoration
M247 – SalmonBay Restoration
C 235 – Cedar Grove Road Rainbow Bend Levee Removal
C236 – Cedar Grove Road Rainbow Bend Mobile Home Buyout
C239 – Lower Lions Stream Reach Acquisition / Projects that were added to the 3-Year Work Plan, four in 2006 and one in 2007, will be added to the 10-Year Start List. This is a correction to reflect how the 3-Year Work Plan is a sub-set of the 10-Year Work Plan. / X