Harper Estuary restoration project: lessons learned during project implementation

Presentation Abstract

Harper Estuary is a shallow embayment located in southern Kitsap County, bisected by a roadway and impacted by historic development. Juvenile salmonids are documented to use the adjacent shoreline and estuary during the spring outmigration. A brick mining and manufacturing facility was built in the southwest portion of the estuary in the early 1900s, which was then a lobe of the estuary but filled in later years. When the factory was abandoned in the 1940’s, the buildings were demolished, with much of the material pushed into the estuary. The estuary natural functions have also been impacted by road fill, both current and historic, along with other fill material for the informally constructed boat launch and upland development. The estuary was bisected by a roadway, with tidal influence also restricted by two undersized culverts. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife partnered with Department of Ecology and Kitsap County to complete an estuarine habitat restoration project as part of the natural resource damage work associated with the Asarco settlement. Phase 1 was completed in winter 2016-17, with Phase 2 delayed until additional funding is obtained. During initial planning and design, the project encountered substantial challenges to define and remove brick material, complete tideland property boundary line surveys and determining appropriate design of replacement structures for the of undersized culverts. This presentation will discuss lessons learned from this project development and implementation.

Session Title

Posters: Habitat Restoration & Protection

Conference Track

SSE18: Posters

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

SSEC Identifier

SSE18-82

Start Date

5-4-2018 11:30 AM

End Date

5-4-2018 1:30 PM

Type of Presentation

Poster

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events); posters

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Estuaries--Washington (State)--Kitsap County; Estuarine mitigation--Washington (State)--Kitsap County; Estuarine restoration--Washington (State)--Kitsap County

Subjects – Names (LCNAF)

Washington (State). Department of Natural Resources; Washington (State). Department of Ecology

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Kitsap County (Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 5th, 11:30 AM Apr 5th, 1:30 PM

Harper Estuary restoration project: lessons learned during project implementation

Harper Estuary is a shallow embayment located in southern Kitsap County, bisected by a roadway and impacted by historic development. Juvenile salmonids are documented to use the adjacent shoreline and estuary during the spring outmigration. A brick mining and manufacturing facility was built in the southwest portion of the estuary in the early 1900s, which was then a lobe of the estuary but filled in later years. When the factory was abandoned in the 1940’s, the buildings were demolished, with much of the material pushed into the estuary. The estuary natural functions have also been impacted by road fill, both current and historic, along with other fill material for the informally constructed boat launch and upland development. The estuary was bisected by a roadway, with tidal influence also restricted by two undersized culverts. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife partnered with Department of Ecology and Kitsap County to complete an estuarine habitat restoration project as part of the natural resource damage work associated with the Asarco settlement. Phase 1 was completed in winter 2016-17, with Phase 2 delayed until additional funding is obtained. During initial planning and design, the project encountered substantial challenges to define and remove brick material, complete tideland property boundary line surveys and determining appropriate design of replacement structures for the of undersized culverts. This presentation will discuss lessons learned from this project development and implementation.