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Department of Ecology News Release - September 9, 2009
09-222
SPOKANE - Three projects to restore and protect shoreline environments have received a financial boost from the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to ensure their successful completion.
The money for the projects in Walla Walla, Adams and Stevens counties is from Ecology’s Terry Husseman account, named for a beloved former Ecology leader. The money comes from penalties that people pay when they violate water quality laws.
Stevens County Conservation District received $8,500 to purchase and install 4,500 feet of fencing along Stranger Creek, a tributary to Lake Roosevelt. The fencing will keep livestock from the creek side riparian area and maintain a minimum buffer of 35 feet.
A riparian area refers to the area along the banks of a natural river or stream. Riparian zones are ecologically diverse and contribute to the health of other aquatic ecosystems by filtering out pollutants and preventing erosion.
Installing the fencing and excluding livestock from the riparian area will reduce bacteria in the creek that comes from animal waste. This will lower bacteria levels in Lake Roosevelt, one of Eastern Washington’s primary recreation areas for swimming, waterskiing and fishing. Also by reducing the livestock impact on the riparian area, vegetation will increase on the creek banks, decreasing erosion of sediment into the water and increasing shade to keep the water from warming up. Fish need clear, cool water.
The Tri-State Steelheaders received $50,000 for a large woody debris project on the Touchet River in Walla Walla County. The Steelheaders will install four engineered log jams along a stretch of the river in order to stabilize an eroding bank, slope the bank back in between the log jams, and plant willows and cottonwoods to help maintain the integrity of the stream bank into the future.
The engineered log jams also will improve stream habitat by providing resting pools and cover for fish. The Touchet is a salmon bearing stream inhabited by steelhead, bull trout, and reintroduced spring Chinook.
The total cost of this project is $116,500 with approximately $75,000 coming from other funding sources. The project implements actions called for in the adopted Walla Walla Watershed Plan and its accompanying implementation plan. The river violates state water quality standards for temperature, dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform bacteria, and pH. The reach below the site has an additional water quality impairment listing for turbidity.
The Adams Conservation District received $28,000 for fencing materials to keep livestock away from the Palouse River and Union Flat Creek. The project will provide a minimum 50- foot buffer along six miles of the river and creek to exclude livestock from the riparian area. This will allow the area to re-vegetate naturally.
The total cost of the project is $89,000 with $61,000 coming from other funding sources.
The Adams Conservation District is implementing this project to help address temperature, dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform bacteria, and pH problems in the Palouse River and Union Flat Creek. This type of project will likely be recommended as part of Ecology’s future Palouse River Water Quality Improvement Plan.
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Media Contact: Jani Gilbert, media relations, 509-329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177; e-mail, jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
