Smith Creek Tidal Restoration

The Pacific Conservation District used funding from the Washington Coast Restoration and Resiliency Initiative (WCRRI), the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) and other sources to design and implement the replacement of two side-by-side malfunctioning tide gates with a 110ft single span bridge over Smith Creek on Parpala Road. The project provided fish passage to 8.2 miles of creek and restored 140 acres of tidal estuary habitat in the Lower Naselle River that was behind the tide gate for nearly 100 years. Restoration activities included reestablishing estuarine channels and constructing an 800ft cross-levee to open habitat on the upstream side of the new bridge while still providing protection to adjacent private property. Juvenile chinook, chum, and coho salmon, juvenile Dungeness crab, eulachon and other estuary rearing species are anticipated to directly benefit from this project. The project leveraged RCO funding with over $2,200,000 in federal funding and over $150,000 in other state funding sources.

The goal of the project was to restore fish passage and tidal estuarine habitat at the confluence of Smith Creek with the Naselle River on Willapa Bay. This highly productive habitat is now available for use by out-migrating salmonids from the Naselle River and other nearby tributaries.