Springbrook Cr Preserve Protection & Restoration

The Bainbridge Island Land Trust is acquiring 22.85 acres of undeveloped forested wetland, stream and associated riparian habitat in the Springbrook Creek Watershed, Bainbridge Island, WA, and proposes to restore fish passage to 0.22 miles of excellent rearing habitat in Springbrook Creek by removing a non-passable culvert. This project also includes removing invasive plant species and replanting native plants on a portion of the preserve. The Springbrook Creek Watershed Assessment (SRFB Project # 14-1517) identified the preserve as hosting some of the highest quality stream and wetland conditions within the entire watershed and identified the preserve as the highest priority protection project. Springbrook Creek flows cold and clear within the preserve and is the only area within the watershed to meet water temperature standards year round. The stream is designated critical habitat for federally listed threatened O. mykiss, Puget Sound Steelhead. While steelhead have not been netted in the system in recent history a 2019 eDNA sampling by Wild Fish Conservancy detected O. mykiss in the lower reaches of Springbrook Creek, and protection and restoration actions like this project are needed to help recover the species. The Puget Sound Steelhead East Kitsap DIP Steelhead Recovery Plan 2020 lists this project as a recovery action. Coho, chum, cutthroat also utilize Springbrook Creek. Final design and permitting are project elements.

Project goals are to protect high priority riparian and wetland habitat for the benefit of on-site and downstream water quality, restore fish passage to .22 miles of upstream habitat, protect capacity of the landscape to handle stormwater events, and restore riparian conditions where degraded by invasive plants. The desired future condition is accessible habitat and high water quality and quantity for aquatic and riparian life on the property and downstream. Species benefited year-round at all life stages include cutthroat, sculpins, Western brook lamprey, and the benthic macroinvertebrate community. Coho will benefit from eggs to smolts year-round and as returning adults in the fall. The protection of perennial flow aids adult coho and steelhead and survival of their eggs, especially in years when summer drought conditions affect streamflow in October when they begin returning to spawn. The desired future condition is for juvenile coho and steelhead to utilize the preserve.