MF Nooksack Porter Creek Reach Ph 3&5 design

Lummi Nation will use this grant to design a project to restore instream mainstem and side channel habitat in the Middle Fork (MF) Nooksack River north of Mosquito Lake Road in Whatcom County (RM 3.8-4.4). The goal is to restore and protect MF/NF Nooksack early Chinook spawning, rearing and holding habitat to recover self-sustaining runs to harvestable levels by addressing limiting factors of temperature, channel stability, habitat variety, and key habitat quantity. The LNR will contract the incumbent engineering consulting firm to design a project that will use engineered logjams (ELJs) that restore habitat-forming processes to increase the number of primary pools within 5 years, increase hydraulic complexity, reduce channel energy through shear stress partitioning, increase spawning gravel deposits and increase in-stream cover. Riparian vegetation will also be restored. Hydraulic modeling and channel and biologic response analysis to proposed treatments will lead to a preliminary design. The LNR will present the preliminary design to stakeholders to develop the 60% design. The WRIA 1 Recovery Plan identified MF/NF early Chinook as one of the highest priority populations; it is essential for recovery of the threatened Puget Sound ESU. The project will also benefit ESA-listed steelhead and bull trout, pink, sockeye, fall Chinook, steelhead, chum, and coho, as well as the Southern Resident Killer Whale.

The primary goal of the project is to protect and restore salmonid spawning, rearing and holding habitat in order to recover self-sustaining salmonid runs to harvestable levels by addressing limiting factors of temperature, channel stability, habitat types and key habitat quantity. Early Chinook will benefit from deep, complex ELJ pools with woody cover for late summer and fall adult holding and year-round juvenile rearing. ELJs will increase water surface elevation and bed aggradation, which will promote split flows and reduce shear stress and redd scour of incubating eggs during fall and spring high flows. ELJs will also promote sediment sorting and deposition of spawning gravels, benefiting spawners and incubating eggs through the winter. Riparian plantings will promote stable forest islands, provide shade and recruit wood. Restoration will be designed to benefit NF/MF Nooksack early Chinook adults (holding and spawning life stages), incubating eggs, and juveniles (post-emergence, over summer, overwinter). Bull trout (eggs, juveniles, adults), steelhead (eggs, juveniles, adults) and other salmonids will also benefit from restoration actions.