Washington’s Recreation and Conservation Office has officially granted Enumclaw more funds to complete the Boise Creek Reroute project.
The city has been looking to reroute the creek’s current route through the Enumclaw Golf Course since at least 2020, though the Puyallup Tribe was studying how to improve the salmon habitat in the area since 2008.
The gist of the matter is, the current Boise Creek route is both bad for the golf course and for migrating fish. For the former, consistent flooding damages the facility and prevents golfers from playing some holes; for the latter, the lack of shade along the route keeps the creek warm during migration season, which can be fatal to the fish.
Thus, a little more than half a mile of Boise Creek is planned to be re-routed along the golf course’s eastern forest edge, which will both reduce flooding at the facility and protect salmon.
The project is expected to cost around $3 million.
The RCO announced the project would receive $590,000 in a Sept. 18 press release, which is on top of a $1.5 million grant the city received in October 2022. Another $1.7 million was granted by the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and a final $1.25 million from the King County Flood Control District, brings the total grant funds to over $5 million. Any leftover funds will not be used by the city.
Construction on the new creek route began in June.
“While a large portion of the work was able to be completed this year, construction is winding down for the season due to weather and regulatory agency in-water work restrictions,” said Eric Palmer, Enumclaw’s Stormwater Manager. “Work is tentatively scheduled to restart in June of next year and completed by the end of 2024.”
GREEN RIVER RESTORATION
The RCO also awarded more than $340,000 to King County’s Land Resources Division to restore a part of the Green River, on the western bank of Flaming Geyser State Park.
According to the RCO, the project in the state park will include planting native trees and shrubs along the river and creating habitats for migrating fish to eat and rest.
This project, which started in July, is expected to be completed in 2026 and cost about $459,000.
STATE-WIDE RECOVERY
Outside of Enumclaw and the Plateau, Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Puget Sound Partnership announced a total of 150 grants in 29 counties, culminating in a $81.5 million investment in recovering at-risk salmon species.
Of that, 66 grants totaling $53.7 million will target projects in and around Puget Sound, with the grants focused on improving salmon habitat and conserving shorelines and riverbanks.
“These are important projects that will help us restore our salmon populations,” said Governor Jay Inslee. “They also provide many other benefits. When we clean up our rivers, we not only help salmon, we reduce flooding, help our communities adapt to climate change and preserve jobs that rely on healthy salmon and natural resources.”
The King County Water and Land Resources Division is slated to receive several grants, including $300,987 to complete preliminary designs to improve habitat in the middle Green River, where a levee prevents the river from accessing the floodplain and the river lacks quality juvenile rearing habitat; and $100,520 to prepare final design documents and restore the left bank of the lower Cedar River near the mouth of the Taylor Creek reach, where the county will reconnect up to sixteen acres of the Cedar River to its floodplain and remove up to 600 feet of the Rutledge Johnson levee, to restore natural river processes.
According to the RCO, adding logs creates places for fish to rest, feed, and hide from predators, also slowing the river, which reduces erosion and allows small rocks to settle to the riverbed, creating areas for salmon to spawn.
