Lake Bosworth Creek Fish Barrier Removal Designs

The Tulalip Tribes is actively engaged in Fish Passage Barrier remediation throughout the Snohomish River Basin, including habitat improvements and remediation of culverts, dams, and fishways listed as fish passage barriers. In 2023 we performed outreach to landowners that have stream crossings important to fish passage in Tulalip’s U&As, and identified potential restoration projects. The project that we are proposing is to begin designs for a stream crossing is the most downstream barrier on Bosworth Lake Creek (WDFW site id: XID7022), a direct tributary to the Pilchuck River. The purpose of this project is to start designs to replace the fish barrier with a passable structure. We have an amendable landowner to start this work, and we will be collecting data and hire an engineer to start designs for fish passable structure of priority for Tulalip.

The Tulalip Tribes Salmon Recovery Strategy (2023, in print) identifies salmon barrier removal as a key action for salmon recovery, and this work contributes to the goal of removing at least 15 barriers in the next 10 years. The project would have a significant benefit to salmon access and spawning use in Bosworth Lake Creek. The goal of the barrier remediations identified is to provide continuity throughout salmon spawning reaches, provide access to spawning adults and juvenile salmon, and promote highly functioning natural processes within the riparian corridor. The proposed projects will help increase resiliency for salmon stocks in the basin in the face of continued stressors including but not limited to declining habitat condition and availability, and global climate change.