Case: Eagle Harbor, WA

In January 2009 the Trustees finalized a restoration plan and environmental assessment to address natural resource injuries from the Wyckoff facility in Eagle Harbor. The plan identifies a general approach of restoring key habitat types: marsh, intertidal flats, eelgrass, and forage fish spawning beach habitat. It discusses a number of potential restoration projects that had been proposed by the City of Bainbridge Island, the general public, and other sources, and identifies five projects that are consistent with the restoration plan and ranked highly when evaluated using Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) restoration selection criteria. The status of the five projects identified in the final restoration plan as having the best potential for restoring injuries caused by releases of hazardous substances from the Wyckoff facility are discussed below:

Strawberry Plant Park Shoreline Restoration Project

This project is located in the back reaches of Eagle Harbor and has a salmon stream adjacent to the property. Based on the current concept the project will remove 190 ft of shoreline armoring and 0.65 acres of fill material to create estuarine marsh and mudflat habitat. Additionally, debris in the intertidal zone will be removed, restoring full function of that area from its current degraded state. These actions will result in a total of 1.30 acres of restored intertidal area. Additionally, there will be 0.61 acres of new riparian habitat adjacent to the marsh. The integrated complex of riparian, marsh, and mudflat habitats at this site will maximize ecological service provision to salmon, other fish, and bird species directly. A draft supplemental environmental assessment for this project went out for a 15-day public comment period and was finalized in September 2009. Implementation of this project by the City of Bainbridge Island is scheduled for Fall 2010.

Pritchard Park West Beach Restoration Project

This project is located along the west beach of Pritchard Park on the southern shoreline of Eagle Harbor. The project will complete the shoreline restoration of the west beach at Pritchard Park. In 2001, approximately 1800 ft of the shoreline adjacent to the project site was restored, and monitoring done by the City of Bainbridge Island has shown that the area is utilized as a spawning beach by forage fish such as surf smelt and Pacific sand lance, which are important salmonid prey items. This project will restore another 415 ft of shoreline by removal of rip-rap and concrete armoring. It will also create approximately 0.3 acres of additional spawning habitat for forage fish by removal of intertidal fill and intertidal debris. Riparian vegetation will be planted and the narrow backshore habitat will be restored and have large woody debris added to provide erosion protection. The project would serve as a demonstration project for private landowners who have hardened shoreline property currently, but who might be willing to modify their property to provide a more natural shoreline habitat. A draft supplemental environmental assessment for the project was made available for public review on November 20, 2009. It is anticipated to be finalized shortly and the project is tentatively scheduled for construction in Fall 2010.

Pritchard Park East Bluff Shoreline Restoration Project

This project is located at the east end of Pritchard Park, adjacent to the Wyckoff facility. The project will involve removing approximately 215 ft of wood bulkhead, adjacent to approximately 260 ft of bulkhead that was removed by a private landowner in March 2010. The net result is that feeder bluff function will be restored along 475 ft of shoreline. A small pocket beach will be created, and a vegetated buffer planted. The project is located within a documented surf smelt spawning beach at Pritchard Park, and it is anticipated to provide additional spawning habitat. A draft supplemental environmental assessment for this project is now available for public review with comments due by May 10, 2010. The SEA can be downloaded at: Draft SEA.

Milwaukee Dock Eelgrass Restoration Project

This project will restore eelgrass habitat by filling the remnants of an unused navigation channel to a depth appropriate for eelgrass growth and survival. The project is located on the eastern shore of Bainbridge Island, near the mouth of Eagle Harbor. The shoreline near the project is now part of the Pritchard Park West property that is owned by the City of Bainbridge Island. The channel was dredged through an eelgrass meadow to access a dock that was removed over ten years ago, and a recent survey of the site indicates that eelgrass still exists in the area surrounding the remnants of the channel. All necessary permits have been obtained for this project. The current plans are for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement the project on behalf of the Trustees, in Fall 2010.

Blakely Harbor Park Shoreline Restoration Project

Blakely Harbor is an embayment located south of Eagle Harbor on the eastern side of Bainbridge Island. The project location is at the head of the bay and is owned by the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Parks and Recreation District. The intent of the project is to restore habitat and make the park available for passive recreational use. Currently at the site there are two large jetties that were constructed to create a log pond (dam doors no longer exist). A sill between the jetties restricts fish access. The remnants of a powerhouse from a former saw mill facility is still present. Wood waste, bricks, metal slag “balls”, and other debris are currently spread over several acres of intertidal and shallow subtidal zones around the area formerly occupied by the mill, but there is also some existing marsh, functional mudflat, and riparian forest. The Trustees have provided funds for site assessment activities to assist in planning potential restoration. The Trustees will resume further consideration of a restoration project at this site after construction has begun on the restoration projects discussed above.