Mason Creek Planning and Acquisition

Clark County acquired two parcels in fee totally 48.5 acres with frontage on lower Mason Creek and adjacent to the East Fork Lewis.

As part of Preliminary Designs efforts, the project achieved its goal and worked with adjacent landowners to achieve project objectives. As part of Preliminary Designs the project:
- developed designs that maximized wetland creation, fish passage and thermal benefits to fish
- developed designs that took into considerations adjacent lands with reduced impacts
- supports rearing juvenile salmonids over 4,000 ft. by improving instream habitat and connection to wetlands
- creates additional wetland/floodplain habitat
- utilized collected WSE data to drive hydraulic modeling and site inundation mapping for existing and restored conditions
- developed 2d hydraulic model to assess existing and restored conditions

The project is being developed to maximize connection to existing Clark County Lands and at Worksite #1. At this time, we do not believe that conservation easements will be necessary as identified in Worksite #2. However, we will still consider this moving forward through final design and into any potential construction actions and will continue to reach out to landowners.

Clark County will acquire two parcels in fee and conservation easements on 4 parcels over a total of 7.4 acres with frontage on MS 01. The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership will develop preliminary restoration designs over 75 acres, including 2,823 feet of EFL frontage in reach 5A and 3,645 feet of frontage in MS 01. Restoration designs along the EFL will emphasize riparian restoration as described in the EF 41 concept design (Lower East Fork Lewis River Habitat Restoration Plan, LCFRB 2009). All primary EFL and Mason species will benefit from designs that improve habitat diversity, rearing, reconnect historic wetlands and reduce fine sediment inputs. Coho, steelhead and chum will benefit particularly by improving spawning habitat and capturing cold water seeps off of the valley wall.