Project Background
Little Rattlesnake Creek is a tributary to Rattlesnake Creek in the Naches River drainage in Yakima County, WA. It hosts steelhead and Spring Chinook, bull trout Critical Habitat and resident rainbow and cutthroat trout. Since the 1970s, the presence of Forest Service Road (FSR) 1501 immediately adjacent to Little Rattlesnake creek had reduced overhead canopy (and stream shading), degraded floodplain function, interrupted hydrologic processes, and is likely to have had effects on water temperature over time. Flood events in 1996, 2009 and 2011 severely damaged the road at mileposts 0.5-0.8 and 2.0.
Design
To address these issues, Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group secured funding from Kennewick General Hospital mitigation funds through the Washington Department of Ecology, and from Washington State’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). In 2015, the USDA Forest Service (USFS) worked with partners to remove 5 miles of FS Road 1501. Road treatment occurred over a length of 5.25 mi, with 23,125 cubic yards of material moved. Two bridges and 45 culverts were removed. The contractors placed 541 trees (490 from the new WDNR road and 51 pushed over on-site) on the old roadbed and into the new stream channel at two locations. Between July 2015 and May 2016, MCF planted 2,920 container and live stake plants. MCF watered the plants as feasible in the summers of 2016 and 2017. During the summer of 2018, MCF worked with Yakama Nation to place an additional 500 logs in Little Rattlesnake Creek as part of the large “Wood Fiesta” Project.
Impact of the Project
The completed project has reduced fine sediment inputs, increased channel complexity, added large wood debris, and allowed Little Rattlesnake Creek access to its historic floodplain. Overtime, instream conditions will continue to improve and provide quality spawning and rearing habitat for native salmon and trout. Removing the road has also provided a new roadless area that provides quality habitat for elk, deer, bears, beaver, and other species of wildlife.
