FY17 Dungeness Floodplain Reconnection

This project continued the Tribe’s focus on floodplain restoration projects by working toward implementing riparian habitat treatments and increasing channel connectivity opportunities in the Dungeness River. Much of the Tribes work under this project entailed coordinating with project partners on completing several riparian parcel acquisitions along the river. These parcels contain a portion of the 2.6-mile long Army Corps of Engineer (ACOE) dike and are directly upstream/adjacent to the Countys Phase I levee setback project, on which the Tribe provides technical expertise (per Project ID 2017-JSKT-01), including partner meetings and collaboration on levee setback designs. The newer (upstream) phase is known as the Rivers Edge Project, and the parcel acquisition element has been coordinated by the Tribe in partnership with North Olympic Land Trust and the Dungeness Valley Creamery, the latter of which, as part of the land acquisition and restoration agreements, will be able to transfer its operations to a less flood-prone parcel.

Accomplishments involved significant due diligence related to both A) acquiring the upstream restoration parcels as part of River’s Edge and accommodating the Creamery in its land lease swap, and B) as reported in Project ID 2017-JSKT-01, reviewing designs and work products required prior to the dike removal and setback elements of the project (for the portion of the dike situated on those acquired parcels) in conjunction with the (downstream and adjacent) Phase I dike setback plans managed by the County.

Please see Documents tab for uploaded graphics illustrating project.

NOTES:
[June 2020] The Tribe received a no-cost extension to 9-30-20 to accommodate a slightly prolonged timeline from what we initially anticipated for some tasks of our FY17 award. However, work hours for this project were completed by approximately 8/21/20 (and then resume in related FY18 project).
[December 2020] It was determined that elements of the FY 2018 restoration implementation project (2018-JKST-04), which mirrors the type of work conducted in this project, specifically the final design work on restoration projects, should get reported under the planning and assessment project (2018-JSKT-01). As the same circumstance exists in this fiscal year, a separate Worksite and Worktype were added to the FY17 planning and assessment project. The difference between proposed and actual budgets reflect final accounting following an approved budget modification to account for actual work accomplished, and for the Worktype transferred to 2017-JSKT-01.

The river system is sensitive to the loss or confinement of floodplain through diking and bank armoring. Historically, the lower river accessed channels across a much wider floodplain area than present. Channel bed degradation has occurred as a result of diking and channel manipulation. Salmon habitat recovery is tied to floodplain recovery in the Dungeness watershed. Restoring floodplain will enhance instream channel habitat forming processes to return stable, complex salmonid spawning and rearing habitat to the mainstem Dungeness.

The Tribe has focused heavily in recent years on floodplain reconnection and riparian and instream restoration, in both lower and upper reaches of the Dungeness River, with successful results. For example, we have progressed the multifaceted lower Dungeness levee setback project by providing continual technical and planning assistance; we recently purchased and restored several mid-reach Dungeness riparian parcels; and, we installed numerous LWD bundles in the Graywolf River.