As you look out from the Deception Pass bridge linking Fidalgo to Whidbey Island, plunging rock faces and forests jut into the vibrantly blue coastline waters of the Salish Sea. The variety of recreation and visual appeal makes Deception Pass one of Washington’s top parks to visit. Over the past 5 years, Skagit Fisheries has been working side by side with Northwest Straits Foundation and Skagit County Marine Resource Committee (MRC) to make this place more than just bountiful to the human eye and body, but to enhance the landscapes for the many plant and animal species that rely on this habitat.
Cornet Bay Pre-Project 2012
Cornet Bay Post-Planting 2019
When visiting Deception Pass you’re likely to see salmon, bull trout, marine birds, crabs, and countless other critters. Over the past decade groups of volunteers have sifted through the sand for a particularly special species. The brackish water on the park’s beaches serves as a home for salmon forage fish, such as surf smelt. These fish provide important nutrients for salmon as they prepare their bodies in the estuary to transition into the ocean. This period in a salmon’s life cycle can determine their survival out at sea, where they also serve as a main energy source for our beloved orcas. However, these beaches were not providing the proper habitat for forage fish, and thus salmon, to survive.
Prior to 2015, Deception Pass’s Bowman Bay contained large boulders and logs, referred to as riprap, that were piled up along the shore to protect the once standing fish hatchery on site.
Volunteers weeding Bowman Bay
This infrastructure caused huge problems to the shoreline ecosystems, preventing forage fish eggs from surviving as they are usually nestled in the sand and pebbles along the shore. As Island County MRC and volunteers surveyed the beach for the little fish eggs for almost 10 years, they received alarming results of limited populations of forage fish.
The same problem was occurring just a few minutes down the road at Cornet Bay. The site is a perfect spot for salmon fry migrants as its estuary habitat provides protection and food for the growing fish. However, this fish sanctuary wasn’t being utilized to its full potential due to the creosoted bulkheads and fill backing that covered a majority of the shoreline. In 2015, the restoration process,spear-headed by Northwest Straits Foundation, took off. The shore armor and bulkheads were removed, the beaches were re-graded to match the natural beach slope, and native vegetation was restored to the shore area. The project was completed in November in 2016, just a year after it began. But the work to bring back forage fish populations had only just begun.
Cornet Bay Beach January 2014
After a grand total of nearly 2,400 volunteer hours at both sites (not including the many hours SFEG volunteers have contributed to planting and maintenance), conducting pre/post construction monitoring to survey the physical and biological changes after the riprap was removed, and 5 years later, forage fish eggs were found once again on the shorelines of both of these sites.
The restoration of these sites undoubtedly has a cascade effect on the ecosystems in the surrounding area and far beyond the Salish Sea. As the forage fish populations rise, the salmon will thrive, providing more nutrients to all of the Pacific Northwest species that rely on their bounty.
Bowman Bay Panorama
Further reading and resources:
Bowman Bay Restoration-Northwest Straits Foundation Video
Bowman Bay Restoration-Puget Sound Partnership Video
Cornet Bay Restoration
Riverfront Park Mulching Party
Upcoming Events, Work PartyJoin us Thursday, July 8th, 9 am-noon to mulch recently planted native plants at Riverfront Park in Sedro-Woolley. Mulching will hold in moisture and limit weeds in the planted area. Gloves, tools, and snacks provided. Dress for the weather, and bring a water bottle!
Cedar Grove | Project 12 of 30
30/30 Projects, Blog, From the FieldLocated 1.8 miles upriver of Dalles bridge in Concrete Washington exists Cedar Grove; a quiet wetland located in the Skagit floodplain in a channel long abandoned by the mainstem river. It may surprise some readers to learn that Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group is currently working with Skagit County Public Works, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete a restoration project designed to benefit Skagit Chinook and (by extension) resident orcas.
SFEG staff (From left to right, Joe George, Erin Matthews, and Sue Madsen) collecting fish use data at Cedar Grove 2019
Thanks to increased awareness, most Washington residents know that our iconic Southern Resident Orcas are critically endangered. Although the current population includes a total of 75 individuals, only 30 of those orcas are effective breeding population members, aka potential parents. Chemical and noise pollution are serious issues for these animals, however one of the main factors thought to be pushing them towards extinction is a lack of access to their primary prey species: Chinook, or king Salmon. Unfortunately for the orcas, and for all other Washington residents who enjoy a king salmon fillet, Chinook are also listed as “threatened” according to the federal endangered species act.
Washington Conservation Corps Crew Leader, Mitch Biggs, measures a resident cutthroat trout at Cedar Grove, May 2021
In the winter and spring The Cedar Grove swells with river water as the Skagit River expands due to rain snow melt.It’s a protected place where newly hatched salmon and trout who don’t stand a chance against the harsh river current can take refuge and wait out the storm before continuing their journey to the ocean. Some of these tiny juveniles, such as trout, coho and some Chinook, will seek out habitats like this one and will remain there for an entire year before they head out to the ocean, but only if the conditions stays habitable year round. These nursery habitats are not abundant enough in the Skagit, a lack of freshwater rearing habitat is one of the primary limiting factors for juvenile Chinook in the Skagit. Recent research suggest that when juvenile salmon cannot find a suitable place to rear they tend to head out to the ocean early-and perish.
Volunteers from the 4th Corner Fly Fishers pose with their newly constructed public river access trail at Cedar Grove
How does a construction project in Concrete WA help Orcas? Cedar Grove is an excellent place for a baby salmon to rear, however it is currently limited by a severely undersized culvert that blocks 3.5 acres of pond and wetland habitat fed year round by cool groundwater springs. This is why Skagit County Public works plans on replacing the perpetually-beaver-clogged 2ft in diameter pipe with an appropriately sized 120 ft long pedestrian bridge. SFEG crews have been collecting pre-project data since 2018 and have observed hundreds of salmon including juvenile coho, Chinook, and cutthroat trout as well as numerous native non-salmonid fish species. Many times, SFEG staff have observed these salmon congregating at the culvert outlet, unable to access the resources and space upstream. Ultimately, we expect this project to benefit hundreds of juvenile salmonids per year by opening up a large area with abundant food and safe hiding places for them to rear in and prepare for harsh open ocean life.
If you would like to see this site for yourself you are in luck!
This project is located on a publicly owned WDFW property in Concrete WA and (thanks to the hard work donated by the 4th Corner Fly Fishers) visitors to Cedar Grove can currently enjoy a newly built foot trail that winds through the forest and access the shore of the Skagit River. In the near future this trail will be made into a loop enhanced by several benches and an interpretive sign. We expect to complete this project by summer 2022 when SFEG will assist the County with construction of the 120ft pedestrian bridge.
Thank you National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for donating funds to support this work.
Learn more about NFWF’s Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program
A juvenile coho salmon and hundreds of other juvenile salmonids rearing downstream of the barrier culvert at Cedar Grove. Photo by Erin Matthews
Deception Pass | Project 11 of 30
30/30 Projects, From the FieldAs you look out from the Deception Pass bridge linking Fidalgo to Whidbey Island, plunging rock faces and forests jut into the vibrantly blue coastline waters of the Salish Sea. The variety of recreation and visual appeal makes Deception Pass one of Washington’s top parks to visit. Over the past 5 years, Skagit Fisheries has been working side by side with Northwest Straits Foundation and Skagit County Marine Resource Committee (MRC) to make this place more than just bountiful to the human eye and body, but to enhance the landscapes for the many plant and animal species that rely on this habitat.
Cornet Bay Pre-Project 2012
Cornet Bay Post-Planting 2019
When visiting Deception Pass you’re likely to see salmon, bull trout, marine birds, crabs, and countless other critters. Over the past decade groups of volunteers have sifted through the sand for a particularly special species. The brackish water on the park’s beaches serves as a home for salmon forage fish, such as surf smelt. These fish provide important nutrients for salmon as they prepare their bodies in the estuary to transition into the ocean. This period in a salmon’s life cycle can determine their survival out at sea, where they also serve as a main energy source for our beloved orcas. However, these beaches were not providing the proper habitat for forage fish, and thus salmon, to survive.
Prior to 2015, Deception Pass’s Bowman Bay contained large boulders and logs, referred to as riprap, that were piled up along the shore to protect the once standing fish hatchery on site.
Volunteers weeding Bowman Bay
This infrastructure caused huge problems to the shoreline ecosystems, preventing forage fish eggs from surviving as they are usually nestled in the sand and pebbles along the shore. As Island County MRC and volunteers surveyed the beach for the little fish eggs for almost 10 years, they received alarming results of limited populations of forage fish.
The same problem was occurring just a few minutes down the road at Cornet Bay. The site is a perfect spot for salmon fry migrants as its estuary habitat provides protection and food for the growing fish. However, this fish sanctuary wasn’t being utilized to its full potential due to the creosoted bulkheads and fill backing that covered a majority of the shoreline. In 2015, the restoration process,spear-headed by Northwest Straits Foundation, took off. The shore armor and bulkheads were removed, the beaches were re-graded to match the natural beach slope, and native vegetation was restored to the shore area. The project was completed in November in 2016, just a year after it began. But the work to bring back forage fish populations had only just begun.
Cornet Bay Beach January 2014
After a grand total of nearly 2,400 volunteer hours at both sites (not including the many hours SFEG volunteers have contributed to planting and maintenance), conducting pre/post construction monitoring to survey the physical and biological changes after the riprap was removed, and 5 years later, forage fish eggs were found once again on the shorelines of both of these sites.
The restoration of these sites undoubtedly has a cascade effect on the ecosystems in the surrounding area and far beyond the Salish Sea. As the forage fish populations rise, the salmon will thrive, providing more nutrients to all of the Pacific Northwest species that rely on their bounty.
Bowman Bay Panorama
Further reading and resources:
Bowman Bay Restoration-Northwest Straits Foundation Video
Bowman Bay Restoration-Puget Sound Partnership Video
Cornet Bay Restoration