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Restoration Activities
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 Trustees are in the process of
obtaining additional information on these five projects. 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 250 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 1.36 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. Debris in the mouth of the stream will
also be removed. A draft supplemental environmental assessment for this
project is now out for public review, with comments due by June 22, 2009. If
this project is ultimately approved for implementation it will be implemented
by the City of Bainbridge Island, possibly in 2009.
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. If the on-going investigations are
favorable, and NRDA settlement funds are provided, the project would be
implemented by the City of Bainbridge Island.
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 475 ft of
wood bulkhead. A small pocket beach will be created, and a 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. If the
on-going investigations are favorable, and NRDA settlement funds are provided,
the project would be implemented by the City of Bainbridge Island.
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, possibly in
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
scope of the project has not yet been determined, and investigations are
underway to provide information to help develop the project plans. Marsh and
beach habitat suitable for forage fish spawning could be restored in this
project. If the on-going investigations are favorable, and NRDA settlement
funds are provided, the project would be implemented by the City of Bainbridge
Island.
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