About the Project
Over the past century, the Little Naches River has been severely altered by a variety of land-use practices that have negatively impacted native fish species. Despite this degradation, the Little Naches River is home to resident cutthroat and rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, steelhead, bull trout, coho, and spring Chinook salmon. This system is designated Critical Habitat for ESA-listed Mid-Columbia steelhead and bull trout.
Background
A 1.24-mile reach of the Little Naches between river miles 3.25 and 4.29 has been identified as a priority for stream restoration. Within this reach, Forest Service Road 1900 confines the river along its right bank. Historic log jam removal has resulted in a lack of instream wood. During the 1970s, in an attempt at flood control, an approximately 700 ft levee was constructed along the left bank which is paralleled by a ~600 ft levee on the right bank (see map below). In the 1980s, the streambed was bulldozed in an attempt to access the water table after low summer flows inhibited fish passage. The combination of these actions has disconnected the river from its historic floodplain and increased the power of the Little Naches during spring runoff.
Project Development
In 2018, a collaborative of agency, tribal, non-governmental biologists, and the US Forest Service submitted a proposal to fund the design phase of this project through the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan. The proposal was accepted and funding was allocated to MCF to manage this project. MCF worked with a design consultant (Tetra Tech), the US Forest Service, and other stakeholders to design and permit this restoration project that improved habitat conditions that benefit fish recovery. MCF simultaneously sought funding to implement the final designed and permitted project and in 2021 received a grant from the Washington Department of Ecology to proceed with work.
Implementation
Construction occurred during the summer of 2022 when BCI Contracting Inc. was hired to remove the two channel-confining levees, dismantle ~230 feet of rock armoring, fill and regrade the channel using native material, reengage two previously disconnected side channels, install 65 wood habitat structures (13 engineered log jams, 12 apex bar structures, 12 bank meander structures, and 4 revetment structures) and place numerous trees onto the floodplain. Trees in the 18 - 23” diameter size classes, used to construct the habitat structures and add floodplain roughness, were harvested directly adjacent to the project site under a USFS forest thinning prescription. Harvesting trees local to the site offered a tremendous cost savings to the project.
Project Presentations
Some of the innovations used when developing and monitoring the Little Naches River restoration project were shared during the 2023 Salmon Recovery Conference hosted by the Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office.
We welcome you to view this presentation by clicking this YouTube video link.
Thank you!
We would like to thank those who contributed funding for this project - restoration projects such as these could not be accomplished without their support:
- Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
- Washington State Department of Ecology
- United States Forest Service