~Day Creek Project~
Day Creek Habitat Restoration
Project
Summary: This project will restore access and enhance habitat for wild Skagit salmon by engaging the Day Creek community in education and restoration projects. Salmon access will be improved to 1.25 miles of habitat and 11.25 acres of riparian area will be enhanced through landowner leadership and community involvement. The Day Creek community is a rural community consisting primarily of farmers, forest owners, and single family households. The Day Creek community members live in an incredibly important watershed for salmon in the Skagit watershed. Historically the Day Creek watershed served as critical salmon habitat for all species of salmonids. However, logging and other human activities in the 20th century damaged the watershed and its once abundant salmon populations. A diversity of habitat types exists in the Day Creek watershed including slough, off channel, floodplain and low and steep gradient stream channels, however much of these habitats have been degraded or disconnected and are in need of restoration. While large scale restoration efforts are needed to restore abundant salmon populations to the Day Creek watershed, landowner cooperation is necessary in order for these large scale projects to occur. SFEG proposes to host a unique workshop series with a variety of partners in the Day Creek watershed in order to engage local landowners in learning more about the history of their watershed and instill a greater sense of stewardship for salmon resources. Cooperative landowners and educated community members working to implement small scale restoration actions through this grant are expected to lead the way for future larger scale restoration actions with more willing landowners.
 Cade and Levi were instrumental in planting trees along Day Creek. |
