This project decommissions 24 miles of roads within the Beckler watershed, located 50 miles east of Everett within the Skykomish Basin. Decommission treatments range from total removal of the road prism and complete recontouring of the hillside to approximately a natural slope, to some combination of removing culverts, removing unstable road fill, scarifying road beds, and waterbarring. Work also includes stormproofing 15 miles of road that are to be retained that currently deliver sediment to streams. The objective is to largely restore and stabilize slopes that are currently contributing sediment to salmon bearing streams (including the Beckler and Rapid Rivers) through surface erosion, and/or have high risks of contributing very large volumes of sediment through mass failures associated with the current road system. The anticipated product would be a largely self-maintaining drainage system. The work is spread over several square miles (see project map). This project would benefit chinook salmon and bull trout, as well as several other salmon and trout species within the watershed. Direct, near-term benefits will occur through the reduction of ongoing chronic delivery of sediments into otherwise valuable chinook and bull trout habitat. When combined with previous restoration work already completed by the USFS, this key project will greatly help restore the Beckler watershed to the refugia its capable of being.
