The Wide Hollow Creek Restoration project is located in West Valley Community Park and will be administered by Yakima County Parks (YCP) and WDFW. The project will improve degraded habitat conditions on 3/4 of a mile of Wide Hollow Creek, a tributary of the Yakima River. Degraded conditions include a 10 to 20-foot homogeneous riparian strip of pacific giant willow, and a non-functional floodplain (stream is diked). The project will improve habitat for coho and steelhead. It will be a community effort involving the following contributors: YCP, WDFW, North Yakima Conservation District, local schools, and community residents. Objectives of this project are: 1) Reestablish a natural riparian for nearly 3/4 of a mile 2)Remove a dike and construct an overflow channel to reestablish floodplain functions. 3)Educate students and the public about salmon habitat requirements, and components of a functional floodplain and riparian. Restoration activities will provide: stream shading (temperature moderation), litter fall (food source for fish and invertebrates), bank and soil stability, future LWD, off channel habitat, cool water recharge, and an outdoor classroom for students and the community. Side channel construction and fill removal will be completed by October 1, 2000 and revegitation, maintenance, and monitoring by December 2001. This project will compliment several other projects on Wide Hollow being conducted by WDFW, North Yakima Conservation District, and others.
