Grays 4C Restoration Project

Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Acquisition

Instream Habitat
Project IDGrays 4C
Recovery DomainsLower Columbia River
Start Date07/01/2021
End Date12/31/2025
Year2021
StatusNew
Last Edited02/27/2024
 
1 - 1

Description    


The Tribe proposes to restore complexity and biophysical connectivity in the project reach in the headwaters of the Grays River. The project will disassemble two anthropogenic debris jams that currently block upstream fish passage to 5.4 miles of stream habitat and interrupt sediment and wood transport to downstream reaches. Approximately 12,000 cubic yards of streambed sediment impounded by the debris jams will be repurposed throughout the project reach, creating complex habitat at the site scale. The project will specifically address key habitat quantity for spawning and rearing habitat at the site scale by creating stable bars of well-sorted gravel associated with 28 newly constructed channel-spanning logjams, 11 floodplain roughness structures, and an additional 188 whole trees over 1.4 miles of stream channel. This project is another step forward in a multi-phased, process-based restoration approach to increase the productivity of the upper watershed. The log structures will restore instream structure to create stable spawning substrate, increasing egg incubation survival rates and create complex rearing habitat to increase over-winter survival of rearing winter steelhead and coho salmon populations.





This project merges restoration funding dollars with the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) project (#21-1103) Grays 4C Restoration funded in 2021. The PCSRF grant funds will paired with a SRFB restoration grant (RCO #21-1103) for project implementation. The Tribe, RCO, and PCSRF staff have discussed and agreed to identify certain work types to prevent redundancy or double counting; RCO will report on the Fish Passage and Riparian Planting and a portion of the Instream Habitat Project restoration metrics and PCSRF will report on the remaining Instream Habitat Project restoration metrics.

Project Benefit    


The Grays 4C Restoration Project will address limiting factors for fall Chinook, chum, and coho salmon, and winter steelhead as identified by the Recovery Plan. Chinook, chum, and coho populations in the Grays River are ESA-listed as threatened. The project includes restoration actions that will alter physical habitat conditions within the 1.4 mile reach, to restore floodplain connectivity and vegetation structure, improve instream habitat diversity, increase wood loading, increase pool area and residual depth, and increase the quantity and quality of spawning habitat throughout the project reach. Upstream passage will be provided past anthropogenic debris barriers, increasing overall habitat quantity available for spawning and rearing to an additional 5.5 miles of stream habitat beyond the project reach. The project will also encourage sediment deposition and retention on site, alleviating pervasive negative sediment impacts to productive reaches lower in the Grays River watershed. We expect these changes to drive biological outcomes including increased spawning success and improved juvenile survival rates for listed salmon and steelhead populations.

Accomplishments

Metric Completed Originally
Proposed
Instream Habitat
  Stream Miles Treated .70

Funding Details

SourceFunds
PCSRF$567,928
Report Total:$567,928


Project Map



Worksites

Grays 4C    


  • Worksite Identifier: Grays 4C
  • Start Date: 08/18/2021
  • End Date: 12/31/2025
Area Description
The project site is in the upper Grays River watershed in Pacific County, Washington. The Grays River watershed is approximately 95% industrial timberland.

Location Information

  • Basin: Lower Columbia (170800)
  • Subbasin: Lower Columbia (17080006)
  • Watershed: Grays River (1708000603)
  • Subwatershed: Mitchell Creek-Grays River (170800060301)
  • State: Washington
  • Recovery Domain: Lower Columbia River
  • Latitude: 46.46999243852789
  • Longitude: -123.4525796890913

ESU

  • Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon ESU
  • Columbia River Chum Salmon ESU
  • Lower Columbia River Steelhead DPS
  • Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon ESU

Map

Photos

Metrics

Metrics
  • C.0 Salmonid Habitat Restoration and AcquisitionY (Y/N)
    •      . . C.0.a Habitat restoration and acquisition funding .00
    •      . . C.0.b Length of stream treated/protected
    •      . . C.0.c
      Project identified in a Plan or Watershed Assessment
    •      . . C.0.d.1 Project Monitoring (LOV)
    •      . . C.0.d.2 Monitoring Location (LOV)
    •      . . C.0.d.3
      Monitoring text (from Phase I)
    •      . . C.4 Instream Habitat ProjectY (Y/N)
      •      . . . . C.4.a Instream Habitat Funding
      •      . . . . C.4.b Total length of instream habitat treated
      •      . . . . C.4.c.1 Channel reconfiguration and connectivityY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . C.4.c.2 Type of change to channel configuration and connectivity (LOV)
        •      . . . . . . C.4.c.3 Miles of stream treated for channel reconfiguration and connectivity
        •      . . . . . . C.4.c.4 Miles of off-channel stream created through channel reconfiguration and connectivity
        •      . . . . . . C.4.c.5 Acres of off-channel or floodplain connected through channel reconfiguration and connectivity
        •      . . . . . . C.4.c.6 Instream pools created/added through channel reconfiguration and connectivity
      •      . . . . C.4.d.1 Channel structure placementY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . C.4.d.2 Material used for channel structure (LOV)
        •      . . . . . . C.4.d.3 Miles of stream treated through channel structure placement
        •      . . . . . . C.4.d.4 Acres of streambed treated through channel structure placement
        •      . . . . . . C.4.d.5 Pools expected to be created through channel structure placement
        •      . . . . . . C.4.d.6 Yards of average stream-width at mid-point of channel structure placement project (Yards)
        •      . . . . . . C.4.d.7 Number of structures placed in channel
        •      . . . . . . C.4.j.2 Miles treated by unspecified or other instream habitat project