Muck Lake/Lacamas Creek Salmon Habitat Restoration

Muck Creek, a Nisqually River tributary located in Pierce County, Washington state, is the most significant tributary in the lower Nisqually River reach for the natural production of anadromous salmonids. Muck Creek supports over 25% of the natural chum production in the Nisqually watershed and up to several hundred steelhead spawn naturally in this subbasin. Cutthroat trout are also found commonly throughout Muck Creek. The creek flows through public and private land, with a significant portion flowing through the Ft. Lewis Military Reservation. Habitat challenges to the creek include loss of riparian trees and invasion of reed canary grass into the channel. Ft. Lewis restoration work allowed salmon to migrate to the boundary of the fort but they were blocked from migrating further upstream. In 1998, a restoration project opened the first private property upstream of the fort and thousands of salmon returned to Muck Creek in Roy. However, reed canary grass still blocked another half-mile upstream preventing salmon from migrating to the upper portion of Muck Creek and into Lacamas Creek. The NOAA Restoration Center entered into a partnership with the Nisqually Indian Tribe to conduct restoration work that will allow migrating salmon to reach the upper portion of Muck Creek and Lacamas Creek. The activities will include: removal of invasive reed canary grass from Muck Lake at the confluence of Muck and Lacamas Creeks; fencing along Lacamas Creek; restoration of stream channels; addition of large woody debris in the stream channel; planting native trees and shrubs in stream banks; and removal of a culvert in a private driveway that currently blocks fish passage. The project will result in a restored 1,500 feet of functioning stream with healthy mature native vegetation in the riparian zone that can provide shade, stabilize stream bands, provide organic matter, and add more woody debris. The cooperative effort will also link the restoration site with the previous upstream and downstream restoration work conducted by Fort Lewis. The streams usage, health, and morphology will be assessed over time to measure project success. The project is a cooperative effort of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, the Pierce Conservation District, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, local private landowners, and the Muck Creek Council. Local citizens and students will volunteer to plant the native vegetation in the riparian zone and to collect stream health monitoring data. The project has been submitted to this inventory by USEPA with the permission of NOAA. For more information about NOAA or their projects, you can visit either the NOAA homepage at www.noaa.gov or the NOAA Restoration Center at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Grant Number 149