Habitat

Substantial Work Underway

The Hood Canal Coordinating Council focuses on priority habitat needs for salmon. Some of the projects underway include the following:

• Restoration of lower Snow Creek and Salmon Creek to address the U.S. Route 101 crossing, which restricts natural processes and the flow of freshwater and sediment.
• Restoration of the lower 1 mile and Moon Valley Reach of the Big Quilcene River to reconned the river to its floodplain.
• Placement of logjams in the Skokomish River to improve spawning and rearing habitat and floodplain function, and stabilize the riverbanks to reduce erosion.
• Restoring the Duckabush River estuary including replacing U.S. Route 101 bridges with larger spans that will allow increased tidal flow and improve habitat for salmon and other species.

The Hood Canal Coordinating Council is developing the Hood Canal Landscape Assessment and Prioritization tool to inform land-use decisions and identify opportunities to improve consistency across jurisdictions to conserve Hood Canal natural resources. Understanding land use across salmon habitat helps inform practices that will protect quality habitat into the future, thereby ensuring salmon resiliency.

• 67 miles of steam made accessible
• 75 blockages, impediments, and barriers impeding passage
• 656 estuarine and near-shore acres treated
• 2,038 riparian acres treated*
• 290 riparian stream miles treated*

*Riparian areas are streamside forests, wetlands, and vegetated areas. ”Treated” usually means fenced to exclude cattle, planted with native trees and shrubs, removed invasive plants, or a combination of them.

For more information about habitat project actions, visit the Recreation and Conservation Office’s Salmon Recovery Portal and Project Search public databases.

View data on Habitat statewide. Visit the Salmon Data Hub for more of the data behind the indicator charts and graphs used throughout this site.