Almost $300K approved for salmon conservation work

Grants to fund projects on Hoh, Dosewallips rivers

PORT TOWNSEND — The Board of Jefferson County Commissioners approved two similar Recreation and Conservation Office fund grants with a combined total of almost $300,000 for projects focused on salmon conservation and resiliency.

The grants were unanimously approved during the commissioners’ Monday afternoon session, with $195,415 going toward a Hoh River Resilience Plan Phase 1 and $94,825 going to the Dosewallips River Powerlines Project.

Both projects will be overseen by Natural Systems Design (NSD), according to commission documents.

The Hoh River plan agreement funds NSD’s creation of a Hoh River Restoration and Management Master Plan.

The resiliency plan would contain conceptual designs to improve channel migration zone function, support a self-sustaining floodplain and in-channel habitat for salmon and steelhead in the Middle Hoh River (river miles 16 to 31), and to address locally identified resiliency objectives, according to commission documents.

The Hoh River work began in late May, and the grant funds the work from that time through Sept. 30, 2021.

The Dosewallips agreement funds NSD conducting a geomorphic assessment, developing a hydraulic model, writing a resiliency plan, attending meetings and developing conceptual designs to improve channel migration zone function, support a self-sustaining floodplain and in-channel habitat for salmon and steelhead in the Powerlines Reach of the Dosewallips River.

The Dosewallips project also will receive matched funds of a grant of $14,703 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, commission documents said.

Powerlines Reach is south of the Lazy C of Brinnon, just before the channel narrows before it opens into the Hood Canal.

The Dosewallips project specifically aims to create designs that would restore habitat for Hood Canal summer chum and chinook salmon, said Tami Pokorny, county natural resources program coordinator.

Pokorny has been reaching out to business owners and community members in Brinnon to discuss the future of the Dosewallips Powerlines Reach project.

“It’s hoped that we can take a look at the Powerlines Reach and make the best possible use of that habitat that we’ve acquired but is yet unstable due to a lot of sediments still coming down the watershed,” Pokorny said.

The Dosewallips grant funds work on the project through June 30, 2021, documents said.

The full agreements can be read here.

________

Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached by email at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com or by phone at 360-385-2335, ext. 5.

More in News

Denise Thornton of Sequim deadheads roses on a flower display at the Sequim Botanical Garden at the Water Reuse Demonstration Park at Carrie Blake Park on Wednesday in Sequim. Thornton, a volunteer gardener, was taking part in a work party to maintain the beauty of the garden. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Rose display

Denise Thornton of Sequim deadheads roses on a flower display at the… Continue reading

Electric rates see big increase

Jefferson proposal approved for 4-year hike

Clallam Transit to receive $4M in grants

Agency to use funds on Strait Shot and other routes

Port Angeles council OKs sidewalk near park

Applicants to receive grant funding for one-third of total cost

Peninsula College to continue without budget

Board expects plan in September

An Olympic marmot stands as the star of the show at Hurricane Ridge on Monday. These tourists from Alaska stopped and photographed the creature from a distance as he slowly ate his meal of wildflowers. The marmot is a rodent in the squirrel family and is unique to Washington state. The hibernating mammal’s burrow is only about 50 feet up the paved path away from the parking lot. The group had just photographed deer at the Ridge. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Olympic marmot

An Olympic marmot stands as the star of the show at Hurricane… Continue reading

Eighth-graders Saydey Cronin and Madelyn Bower stand by a gazebo they and 58 other students helped to build through their Sequim Middle School Core Plus Instruction industrial arts class. The friends were two of a handful of girls to participate in the building classes. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Middle school students build gazebo for academy

Businesses support project with supplies, flooring and tools

Frank Nicholson and David Martel.
Veterans in Warrior Bike program to pass through Peninsula towns

Community asked to welcome, provide lodging this summer

Special Olympian Deni Isett, center, holds a ceremonial torch with Clallam County Sheriff Brian King, right, accompanied by Lt. Jim Thompson of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Police on a leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run on the Olympic Discovery Trail at Port Angeles City Pier. Tuesday’s segment of the run, conducted mostly by area law enforcement agencies, was organized to support Special Olympics Washington and was to culminate with a community celebration at 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Carrying the torch

Special Olympian Deni Isett, center, holds a ceremonial torch with Clallam County… Continue reading

Hopefuls for Olympic Medical Center board debate

Talk focuses on funds, partnership

An encapsulated engineered coupler used to repair a January leak. The leak occurred along a similar welded joint near to the current leak. (City of Port Townsend)
Port Townsend considers emergency repair for pipeline

Temporary fix needs longer-term solution, officials say

Traffic to be stopped for new bridge girders

Work crews for the state Department of Transportation will unload… Continue reading