Lower Chiwaukum Creek Restoration

Chiwaukum Creek is an important perennial stream that provides cold water refuge and spawning and rearing habitat for ESA listed bull trout, Chinook salmon and steelhead trout in the Upper Wenatchee River. Other non-listed species also utilize Chiwaukum Creek and its confluence with the Wenatchee river such as sockeye, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, and others. Lower Chiwaukum Creek and its floodplain have been severely impacted by logging and the construction of Highway 2 and the Tumwater Campground. These actions and features have greatly constrained habitat and habitat forming processes. Our project seeks to remove campground infrastructure and install wood to improve floodplain connectivity, instream complexity, and cold-water refuge in the lower 0.75 miles of Chiwaukum Creek and the confluence with the Wenatchee River.

The project is centered on two interconnected goals:
1) To restore and enhance spawning and rearing habitat for all species of salmonids in Lower Chiwaukum Creek and the adjacent Wenatchee River, and
2) To improve the Tumwater Campground layout to accommodate habitat restoration and mitigate flood risk.