Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force
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Habitat Projects in the Wynoochee River Watershed
Kennemer Creek · Mooney Creek · Spalding Creek · Steelhead Creek · Wynoochee #4
Kennemer Creek Culvert Replacement
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Kennemer Creek is a tributary to the Wynoochee River. The blockage resided on a county road culvert that was elevated approximately 7 feet at its outfall which empties directly into the Wynoochee River. Prior to the original culvert installation this stream was accessible to anadromous salmonids. Searun Cutthroat inhabited this stream, according to local knowledge and the current landowner. At that time the stream had a bridge, but it was replaced by an undersized and elevated culvert because the river damaged the bridge. The location is on an outside bend in the river and is heavily armored to protect the county road.
The stream is over three miles long according to USGS maps, with many small tributaries not shown on maps. It is spring-fed, the water temperature is cool and the riparian is mixed deciduous and conifer. The stream has a lot of older large woody debris left from the old-growth period and it also has a long series of beaver ponds for most of its length. With repairs to the barrier, this stream is excellent off-channel rearing for salmonids, which is in extremely short supply in the Wynoochee Basin. The lower reach can also provide some spawning habitat.
The intended outcome of the project was to replace a fish-blocking culvert 4 feet in diameter with one that will pass all fish species throughout the year and for most water conditions. The primary objective was to provide fish passage and off-channel overwintering habitat for juvenile salmonids to result in increased production from naturally-spawning fish in the Wynoochee Basin.
The old undersized and elevated culvert was removed and replaced with a 10 foot round steel culvert with nine weirs, called a fishway. This culvert was installed in sections on a 6% grade to make up the difference in elevation between the stream and the river. Steel baffles made of 3/8” galvanized steel topped with 1 ½” heavy gauge steel pipe were installed in the culvert to create weirs to allow fish passage within the culvert and to accommodate five feet of the seven foot drop in elevation from the creek bed to the river level. The remainder of the elevation difference was corrected with large rock placement and large woody debris upstream of the culvert location. This type of culvert resulted in minimum land disruption for the neighboring landowner who had a concern about damaging his property. The new culvert was armored both upstream and on the lower end where it enters the river. The construction area and the affected area upstream from the culvert were planted with conifer trees, mostly spruce.
The Kennemer Creek culvert replacement opened up 3 miles of habitat and off channel rearing. In addition, several hundred acres of beaver ponds and wetland habitat were opened. During the fall following construction, adult Coho and Steelhead were observed entering the stream. This culvert has accomplished the goal of passing fish.
Mooney Creek Culvert Replacement
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Fish barriers are one of the primary limiting factors in the Chehalis Basin and the Wynoochee Subbasin Basin. A culvert survey conducted by Columbia Pacific RC&D cited 35 fish blocking culverts located under county roads alone in the Wynoochee system. Five of these culverts were identified on Geissler Road, and three of those were considered cost-effective to replace, based on habitat, stream miles and number of species served. The Mooney Creek culvert replacement was one of these blockages uncovered in the survey.
Mooney Creek, a tributary to the Wynoochee River, at river mile 6.9, has over 4.3 miles of accessible stream based on USGS maps. A survey of the stream indicated it could support Coho, steelhead, and Chum in the lower reaches and Cutthroat Trout. Local residents claim this stream supported spawning salmonids prior to the original culvert installations. The riparian is good quality with deciduous and conifer trees plus overhanging brush. The upper portions of the stream have large beaver ponds and wetlands. The stream averages 19 ft. in width at the lower end. The barrier consisted of two 4 foot diameter culverts, 90 feet long, with a gradient exceeding 1% and was elevated at the downstream end 14 inches. These blockages were within the first quarter mile of the stream. To correct the problem, a 22 foot diameter, 130 feet long pipe arch was installed at this location.
The Mooney Creek culvert replacement opened up 4 miles of stream and wetland habitat for spawning, rearing and overwintering of Coho, Chinook, Chum, Steelhead and Cutthroat Trout. The culvert now easily passes adult fish and all the species mentioned above have been observed passing through during the fall months. A local resident who is retired and lives in the area visits the project site nearly every day sighting dozens of fish passing through and hanging out in the project location.
Spalding Creek Culvert Replacement
Spalding Creek, a tributary to the Wynoochee River, is located in Grays Harbor. This project addressed restricted access to open wetlands for juvenile off-channel rearing for Coho and other salmonids. Prior to construction, the Spalding Creek barrier was a velocity barrier that inhibited access to off-channel rearing habitat during the most crucial time periods that juvenile salmonids need refuge. With a stream roughly 8 feet wide flowing through a culvert four feet wide, observations indicated this culvert ran from ½ to over ¾ full most of the time. During winter months the velocities through the culvert on Spalding Creek made it impassible. The objective was to obtain fish passage for all species of fish at all life stages throughout the year, including adults and juveniles. Getting adults as well as juveniles salmonids into the watershed improves the nutrient load and improves conditions supporting wildlife activity for numerous species of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Additionally, it improves the health of the riparian vegetation.
This project removed the barrier and replaced it with a pipe arch multiplate 65 foot long culvert that is 12 feet 4 inches wide and 7 feet 9 inches high. A series of weirs within the culvert were installed to maintain the existing upstream wetland water elevation. Rock placement and stream control measures were used as well at the downstream side to ensure the culvert remains watered and fish passable at all times. No other habitat measures were needed due to the fact that the culvert flows into an already well developed wetland. By and large, this was a valuable project that opened up over 2 miles of habitat for Cutthroat Trout, Coho salmon, and other salmonid species.
Steelhead Creek Culvert Replacement
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In a culvert survey conducted by Columbia Pacific RC&D, 35 fish-blocking culverts were identified under county roads in the Wynoochee system. Five blocking culverts were identified on Geissler Road; in which three were considered cost-effective to replace based on habitat, stream length and number of fish species served. One of these identified blockages was located on Steelhead Creek, a tributary to the Wynoochee at river.
The riparian vegetation was excellent with deciduous, conifer trees and dense brush, and the upper portions of the stream had large beaver ponds and wetlands. These attributes provide good fish rearing habitat. The passage barrier consisted of one 40 foot long 2.5 foot diameter culvert. It was replaced by a 40 foot long 7 foot diameter culvert, opening up 3 miles of habitat for Coho, Chum, Steelhead, and Cutthroat Trout.
Wynoochee #4 Culvert Replacement
The Wynoochee #4 project was performed on an unnamed tributary to the Wynoochee River at mile 16. The Wynoochee is a tributary to the Chehalis River. The culvert was a total fish passage barrier, as determined by a culvert analysis done by Columbia Pacific RC& D in 1999. A second evaluation by LWC Consulting in July of 2002 confirmed this finding.
The objective of removing a fish barrier culvert is simple: remove the barrier, and native salmonids can access miles of potential spawning and rearing habitat that are currently unavailable, thus increasing the river system’s capacity for fish production. Prior to correction, the species utilizing the accessible portion of the creek were Coho, Chum and Cutthroat Trout, and likely Steelhead trout as well. The area which to which was inaccessible provides additional high-quality spawning habitat for these fish, as the entire stream is now good over-wintering off-channel habitat for all salmonid species. In the upper reaches Coho and Cutthroat can now predominate.
Tributary streams on the east side of the lower Wynoochee River are relatively short because of the steep terrain. Several of these small streams flow into the Wynoochee within this geographic area. They run through deep canyons with limited floodplains as they approach the river. The opportunity for salmonids to utilize these side streams is limited under natural circumstances and the barriers can substantially decrease the available habitat that does exist. When streams of this type are blocked by culvert barriers, the juveniles have no place to rear during their freshwater life cycle except in the mainstem rivers and those areas below the culvert barriers. This forces a large percentage of juveniles into the mainstem river systems where they are vulnerable to predation or flushed to the lower river areas and the estuary during high peak flows. This causes a high mortality for the juvenile stage of all salmonids. For each mile of spawning habitat there should be at least four miles of rearing. Salmonid juvenile rearing is one of the primary limiting factors for fish production.
This project addressed a 4 ft. diameter corrugated steel pipe 121 ft long culvert barrier that was deteriorated at the outfall end with an elevated drop of 18 inches. It had a slope of 1.76% and no streambed materials within the pipe. It was replaced by a 15 ft. diameter round pipe. The round pipe was required because of the large amount of fill (27 ft.) from the road surface to the top of the new pipe. This was a large amount of fill, but the need to open up tributary streams in the Lower Wynoochee was and still is critical. Wynoochee #4 being a tributary to the Wynoochee River, is one of four small streams in this area, but now one of these four (Wynoochee #4) has the ability to provide off-channel rearing and spawning for salmonids.