Paradise Pond

The Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition (PCSC) used this funding to complete a restoration project at Paradise Pond, located on a small tributary of the Clearwater River in the Queets River drainage. The pond was created by WDNR and WDFW during the summer of 1985 as a means to provide overwintering habitat for juvenile salmonids. A cedar plank dam was built across a spring-fed channel to pond the water, and a wooden pool and weir fishway was constructed and connected to the downstream end of the dam. Explosives were used to deepen sections of the 5,000 square meter pond that ranges in depth from 1-3 meters. The dam and fishway had become severely degraded and became a barrier to juvenile fish. The PCSC replaced the rotting cedar vault with an overflow leading to a 350-foot meandering channel. PCSC placed wood and spawning gravel in the channel to provide cover, pools, and riffles. The new channel will allow access to the pond under all flow conditions. Paradise Pond provides overwintering refuge to coho salmon and steelhead and cutthroat trout. Partners include the Quinault Nation, DNR, WDFW, Rayonier, and SRFB.

The goal of the project is to connect isolated habitat to increase the range and distribution of salmon.

The objective of the project is to increase access to areas blocked by human-caused impediments.