Seahurst Bulkhead Removal and Beach Restoration Assessment Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 9

Project Description

• Located in the Nearshore Subwatershed at Seahurst Park on Puget Sound in Burien
• Since being armored with a bulkhead (seawall) in the 1970s, beach elevations in Seahurst Park have dropped three to four feet due to wave scouring and the disconnection of the beach from primary sediment sources. These changes have significantly degraded habitat quality for salmon and the organisms they depend on, particularly forage fish. In addition, the stone bulkhead was failing, spilling stones onto the beach.
• The SRFB grant funded a feasibility study of bulkhead removal and bulkhead alternatives in the early 2000s. The feasibility study confirmed the value of bulkhead removal and beach restoration.
• Bulkhead removal and beach restoration in late 2004 and early 2005 also received financial support from SRFB

Partners and Funding

• Led by the City of Burien with the support of the WRIA 9 Forum
• $100,000 for the study funded by the SRFB (second round) and City of Burien
• Additional funding information

Importance for Salmon This nearshore area is used by juvenile salmon such as Chinook before they migrate to the open ocean Assessment included study of bulkhead alternatives that could be useful at other sites across the Puget Sound Pre- and post-restoration monitoring will quantify the benefits from this project. Download the pre-project monitoring report (February 2005)(Adobe Acrobat)

Other Watershed Salmon Restoration/Protection Projects