Streaming Media
Presentation Abstract
The railroad is a prominent stressor on long stretches of shoreline in the Washington portion of the Salish Sea. It runs along 52 miles of the shoreline, while another 21 miles of railroad is within 200 feet of the shoreline. In many places, the railroad forms a barrier between the coastal watershed and the shoreline preventing the delivery of water, sediment, wood, and organic matter to the nearshore. This results in large-scale degradation of the habitat quality of the nearshore environment, which is important habitat for several trophic levels of the Salish Sea food web. Building upon a science-based prioritization of stream mouths to benefit juvenile Chinook salmon, work is underway to advance regional restoration planning along the railroad. This implementation planning includes working with BNSF and restoration-focused organizations on three main topics: 1) initial feasibility and conceptual design at three of the highest priority stream mouth sites, 2) conceptual restoration categories of treatments for all other stream mouths, and 3) advancing pathways for implementation with added information on project benefits, funding strategies, and lessons learned.
Session Title
Poster Session 3: Land - Water Connections
Conference Track
SSE14: Posters
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-posters-26
Start Date
27-4-2022 4:00 PM
End Date
27-4-2022 4:30 PM
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Railroads--Environmental aspects--Washington (State); Watershed ecology--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Shorelines--Monitoring--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Estuaries--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Estuarine area conservation--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Washington (State)
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Restoration Implementation Planning for Salish Sea Stream Mouths Impacted by the Railroad
The railroad is a prominent stressor on long stretches of shoreline in the Washington portion of the Salish Sea. It runs along 52 miles of the shoreline, while another 21 miles of railroad is within 200 feet of the shoreline. In many places, the railroad forms a barrier between the coastal watershed and the shoreline preventing the delivery of water, sediment, wood, and organic matter to the nearshore. This results in large-scale degradation of the habitat quality of the nearshore environment, which is important habitat for several trophic levels of the Salish Sea food web. Building upon a science-based prioritization of stream mouths to benefit juvenile Chinook salmon, work is underway to advance regional restoration planning along the railroad. This implementation planning includes working with BNSF and restoration-focused organizations on three main topics: 1) initial feasibility and conceptual design at three of the highest priority stream mouth sites, 2) conceptual restoration categories of treatments for all other stream mouths, and 3) advancing pathways for implementation with added information on project benefits, funding strategies, and lessons learned.
