Jefferson County Conservation District used NRI funding to help 15 landowners restore salmon habitat in Chimacum Creek through removal of reed canary grass. The overgrowth of grass choked stream flow and contributed to flooding, pollution, and low oxygen levels. The flooding was impacting valuable farmland. The contaminated runoff was impacting shellfish growing areas, and the low dissolved oxygen was adversely impacting salmon.
In total, 15 separate landowners participated in the grass removal project, which greatly improved streamflow and reduced flooding.
This project also:
Project Priorities moving forward:
CREP has changed the landscape in Whatcom County” (Wayne Chaudiere, Whatcom Conservation District). Riparian buffers, such as the one shown in the photo, now span along 132 miles of stream in Whatcom County, forming a panorama of native tree and shrub forests that were just recently open fields or invasive plant species such as blackberry.
Success Story Snapshot: Tucannon River. Voluntary, watershed-based effort leads to increased salmon runs.
Over the past two years, Clallam Conservation District and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT) have teamed up to plant conifer trees along the Elwha River, each bringing different resources to the table.
