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Page A—12 Shelton-Mason County Journal — Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020
sisal. Bredam
/sabel/a@masoncounty. com
Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement
Group is seeking construction funding
for its Big Quilcene River Lower One
Mile project to reduce flooding, im-
prove fish passage and return natural
sediment transport to benefit nearby
shellfish beds.
“The flood risk will be reduced
when we allow the river to access its
historic floodplain,” said Mendy Har-
low, executive director of Hood Canal
Salmon Enhancement Group.
“It’s also beneficial for salmon to
have a straight channel to spawn in
— right now they don’t survive as well
long term the juveniles are washed
out to saltwater before they’re ready.”
Big Quilcene River, near Quilcene,
has levees along the river that inter-
rupt the natural flow, making the
Big Quilcene River flowing from the Olympic Mountains to Quilcene Bay
is prone to flooding. Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group will remove
levees to let the river return to its historical floodplain. Photo courtesy
of
chum, coho, winter steelhead and sea-
run and resident cutthroat trout.
“This is big because it will benefit
Hood Canal summer chum and we’re
hoping the project will be compatible
with shellfish in Quilcene Bay,” Har-
low said.
According to the Puget Sound Near—
, shore Ecosystem Restoration Project
design, existing levees have changed
the natural sediment transport and
other natural geologic processes, re-
sulting in accelerated prog‘radation
expansion —. of the delta into Quilcene
Bay as a result of high levels of sedi-
ment input.
Reducing these high levels of sedi-
ment Will benefit shellfish populations
such as clams, oysters and mussels,
and the local Olympia oyster.
Project design was completed by
Anchor QEA, an environmental engi-
neering firm out of Seattle, in partner-
ship with Engineering Services Asso-
Hoping to better go with the flow
river channel higher than the natu-
ral floodplain and causing the river to
flood.
The project will work to remove and
address constraints including levees,
bridges and roads, allowing the river
to access its historic floodplain and
returning natural flow and sedimen-
tary processes. By removing levees,
the community of Quilcene will see
less flooding and have fewer barriers
sussr
Anchor QEA
to travel, increased access to fishing
and recreational opportunities, Har-
low said.
With project design complete,
the Salmon Enhancement Group is
now applying for construction funds
through the state Recreation and
Conservation Office and aims to move
forward over the next few years. The
project proposal is searchable in the
RCO’s PRISM database as project
#20-1497. '
Big Quilcene River flows east from
the Olympic Mountains into Hood Ca-
nal through Quilcene Bay. The river
is home to multiple species of salm-
on, including -Endangered Species
Act threatened Hood Canal summer
ciates out of Belfair. I ,
“We try to keep our dollars local
when we can,” Harlow said, “I want
people in our community to be able to
make a living here. A big reason we
get really involved with education is
because we want to make sure kids
know that when they grow up they can
make a living wage working in Hood
Canal.” ’ '
General insights forfishing Big Quilcene River
hatchery manager at
Quilcene National Fish
Hatchery since January 2008,
and thus have been here long
enough to share some general
insights about fishing the Big
Quilcene River for our adult
hatchery coho run. ,
We usually observe the ‘ '
very first adult hatchery coho
of the season entering our re-
ceiving channel around Aug. 1
each year. By Aug. 31, rough-
ly one-third of the entire adult
hatchery coho run has entered
the hatchery. But this is not
evenly distributed during the
I’ve been the assistant
course of August: the closer to»
Aug. 31 the more the run will
have built up.
Turn the page of the calen-
dar over to the month of Sep-
tember, and about two-thirds
of our adult hatchery coho
run will have returned to our
receiving channel by Sept. 18.
The run generally remains
fairly strong throughout the
month, with 80 perent of the
adult hatchery coho run in to
the hatchery by Sept. 30.
By Oct. 15, 90 percentof the
fish have arrived and by Hal-
loween, it becomes very close
'to 100 percent and is then
rapidly winding down.
I would rate overall fishing
opportunity and fish quality
as being best in August and
September, although in early
October there is still a sizable
component of nice silver speci-
mens that slowly diminishes
into mostly colored-up fish as
October wears on.
For quality of the expe— '
fience, however, I choose
October: the ranks of other
anglers on the river are pro-
gressively thinning out and
leaving one with more elbow
ENVIRONMENTAL BRIEFS
peared thereafter. That year,
both Quilcene Bay and the Big
Quilcene River were closed to
further fishing on Oct. 2.
Precipitation can also
affect movement of the re-
turning adult hatchery coho.
room, the leaves are turning
color and during clear weather
there are those crisp mornings
and wonderfully warm blue-
sky afternoons.
As far as timing, this an-
nual run is not stamped out
cookie-cutter style and can
vary sometimes widely —
from year to year, which I at—
tribute to natural factors such
as prevailing ocean conditions
and weather patterns.
For example, the 2010 sea-
son was not nearly as drawn
out through October as nor-
mally experienced. That year,
the vast majority of the fish
showed up in a much more
compressed fashion during
August and September, and
as it turned out, was largely
over with by the middle of
September. Only a relatively
small but rather steady trickle
of adult hatchery coho ap-
raising the water level/flows
and water clarity simultane-
extremely active in making .
their way upstream. But just
exactly when the precipitation
happens also has an effect:
on Aug. 29, 2015, we had a ?
storm that occurred that was
unusual early in the season
in terms of wind and rain. It
was likewise accompanied by
an unusually strong surge
of fish at the hatchery given
the early date, but it was still
so early in the run there just
weren’t so many fish to be
running. Had that storm come
When it rains enough to start
ously reduces, the fish become .
two or three weeks later, it
would likely_have involved an
absolutely enormous showing
of fish relative to the calendar
date. ,
After all these years of
observation, my advice is to
simply go fishing when time
allows. Spend too much time
trying to dial' in the perfect
date(s) to a T and something
like emergency home or auto
repairs can come up and nix
the whole thing. I think we’ve
all encountered the adage that
“the worst day fishing beats
the best day working,” so just
going fishing when the oppor-
tunity presents itself is prob-
ably the best fishing advice
that there is.
I Dan Magnussen is the,
assistant hatchery manager
at Quilcene National Fish,
Hatchery.
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Don’t plant unsolicited seeds
A suspected “brushing” scheme where a compa-
ny sends unsolicited packages to verified customers
to boost reviews of new products on Amazon -— is
sending packets of seeds to resident’s mailboxes
across the county.
Individuals who receive seed packages should
not open the package or plant the seeds. The pack-
ages may be labeled with “socks” or “jewelry” on the
exterior shipping package.
Washington residents should place the seeds and
their packaging in a plastic bag and mail them to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture for investiga-
tion at USDA-APHIS-PPQ — Attn: Jason Allen,
Seattle Plant Inspection Station, 835 South 192nd
Street, Bldg D, Suite 1600, Seatac, WA 98148.
“Our volunteers are often the state’s first line of
defense in identifying and stopping invasive species
and threats to the environment,” Jennifer Marquis,
Washington State University master gardener pro-
gram leader, wrote in an email.
“It’s important for all of our volunteers and part-
ners to know the potential dangers, understand
where to seek help and information, and to share
this information with their neighbors.”
Spill prevention for boaters
Washington boaters are invited to join Sea
Grant’s Clean Bilge Project to help prevent oil spills
and keep the state’s waterways clean.
“Boaters are the first line, they are the de facto
pollution managers,” Aaron Barnett, Washington
Sea Grant boating specialist, said in a video release.
“All boaters need are the tools to make that hap-
pen.” ,
Boaters can contact Barnett at 206-616-8929 or V
aaronb5@uw.edu to receive small spill prevention
materials.
The small spill kit includes a fuel absorbent bib
and absorbent pillow that may be placed beside
bilge pumps to prevent pollutants from entering the
waterways.
According to a state Department of Ecology
study, nearly 6,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline
were spilled by recreational vehicles from 2011-
2015.
Watershed committee meets
The Kennedy-Goldsborough Watershed Resto- ‘
ration and‘Enhancement Committee will convene
Aug. 13 from 9 am. to 12:30 pm. to continue devel-
oping a 20-year watershed plan.
Meeting links, minutes and agendas are avail-
able at ezview.wa.gov/site/alias_1962/37326/wa-
tershed_restoration_and_enhancement_-_wria_l4.
aspx.
I Compiled by Isabella Breda