Kendall Cr. is a large, low elevation tributary to the North Fork Nooksack River, originating at Sprauge and Kendall lakes in North Whatcom County, WRIA 1. A large portion of the system is composed of beaver dam complexes, and provides excellent overwinter refuge for rearing dependent species. Several habitat restoration and enhancement projects in this basin have accentuated these characteristics, and preliminary escapement numbers suggest that up to 5% of the Nooksack basins coho escapement comes from the Kendall system. The existing barrier is a corrugated steel culvert with a 1.35 m diameter, located on a tributary stream to Kendall Cr. The pipe is located on an alluvial fan, which causes rapid channel aggradation during high flow events. The pipe fills with bedload and the channel avulses, damaging the roadbed and contributing fine sediment. To restore the pipes capacity, channel dredging occurs, and gravel is removed from the system, impacting instream habitat where dredging occurs, and robbing the DS channel of spawning substrate. This activity also renders the pipe a perched fish passage barrier. To restore fish passage, and restore some degree of system stability, the proposed improvement is the installation of a 30 x 14 pre-cast concrete bridge w/ raised approaches approx. 6 above channel bottom. This will provide access to 0.34 miles of habitat for coho, bull trout, chum, steelhead, and searun cutthroat.
