What's New Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 9

"News Fit for a King" - Winter 2008 Edition

Check out the new quarterly newsletter on efforts by watershed partners to improve the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed for people and fish. Download the newsletter (Adobe Acrobat 296 KB).

Draft Available of First Annual Progress Report on Salmon Habitat Plan Implementation

On February 21, 2008, the WRIA 9 Steering Committee reviewed the first first annual progress report on implementation of the Salmon Habitat Plan for the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed (WRIA 9). This draft report covers accomplishments during the period August 2005 to December 2007. It also notes areas where more work is needed.

• Download the draft report (MS Word 213 KB)
• Download the list of active projects (MS Excel 43 KB)

Five Projects Receive $2 Million in State and Federal Grants

On December 19, Governor Chris Gregoire announced the award of $60 million in grants to recover salmon habitat across Washington State. Five projects in the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed received $2 million in grants. The projects are:

• North Wind’s Weir Intertidal Restoration – $950,000. This grant will contribute to creation of two acres of shallow water resting and rearing habitat in the Duwamish River “transition zone” that is essential for salmon recovery. The Tukwila site, located upstream of the most polluted part of the river, is important because this reach of the estuary provides the appropriate range of salinities for juvenile Chinook to transition from the freshwater of the Green/Duwamish River to the salt water of Puget Sound. The project will be carried out by King County in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• Green River Restoration - $250,000. King County will use this grant to design and permit a restoration project that will improve spawning and rearing habitat on 20 acres of Green River floodplain and 3,000 linear feet of river near Auburn.
• Point Heyer Shoreline Preservation - $360,000. This grant to King County will fund acquisition of shoreline parcels from willing landowners. Located on the eastern shoreline of Vashon Island, the shoreline near Point Heyer provides high quality habitat for migrating juvenile salmon.
• Beaconsfield-on-the-Sound Shoreline Restoration – $380,738. This grant will be used to help acquire a quarter-mile stretch of shoreline in Normandy Park. The project involves working with willing landowners to remove unnecessary bulkheads that are not protecting houses and properties. This project will be conducted by the non-profit Cascade Land Conservancy.
• Riverton Creek Flapgate Removal – $42,500. This grant will fund a feasibility analysis to determine whether two culvert flapgates can be removed to re-connect Riverton Creek and the Duwamish River in Tukwila. Creating a connection will restore full fish access to more than 1,200 feet of stream channel and will provide shelter for juvenile salmons from predators and refuge during high river flows. The City of Tukwila will lead this project.

More information on these projects is available at the Recreation and Conservation Office web site or contact Karen Bergeron, Habitat Projects Coordinator, 206-296-8383.

Volunteering for the Watershed

There are volunteer opportunities this spring where you can get dirty for a good cause!