Reecer Creek Floodplain Restoration

The Reecer Creek Floodplain Restoration project accomplished the following:
• relocated 3500 feet of diked creek on 50 acres of recontoured floodplain channel;
• revegetated riparian and upland with native grasses and more than 9000 trees and shrubs;
• Added Instream woody material to improve channel complexity;
• Added channel sinuosity, which increased stream channel length by approximately 4350 feet in an area that is within .35 miles of the Yakima River mainstem;
• Installed two interpretive signs;
• Created a community asset for non-motorized recreation via a trail along the setback levee.

The project will enhance salmon recovery efforts in the Upper Yakima River, providing approximately 5,600 linear feet of new rearing habitat for anadromous coho and chinook, ESA-listed steelhead and resident rainbow. Rearing habitat is identified as a limiting factor for salmonid production in the Upper Yakima basin. The benefits include restoring a more natural creek ecosystem function and allowing the creek to access its floodplain during high water events. The project will support water quality (slowing sediment transport and enhancing groundwater recharge) and provide wildlife habitat (increased salmon spawning and rearing habitat, and restored terrestrial environments), while increasing flood water capacity and reducing flood flow energy.
This project will complement the efforts by the Kittitas County Conservation District, Yakama Nation and Kittitas Conservation Trust to open fish passage from the Yakima River up Reecer and Currier Creeks to provide more than 6 miles of habitat in this critical reach of the Yakima River. In addition, the project will support future recreational opportunities, informational kiosks and educational uses for K-12 and Central Washington University students.