Haberzetle Dam Removal Restoration

The Tulalip Tribes Restoration, Acquisition and Stewardship Program worked with a private land owner to remove an earthen dam on a direct tributary of the Snoqualmie River. This most downstream barrier was 0% passable, cutting off more than a mile of fish habitat in an important rearing and spawning area for Salmon. Our program worked with the landowner, state agencies and private funders to complete a removal of the crumbling earthen dam and provide salmon access to newly opened spawning and rearing areas inaccessible for more than 80 years. To provide access for the landowner between two parts of the 40-acre parcel and the agricultural field, we installed a 40’ pre-fabricated steel bridge.

Once we removed the trapped sediment behind the dam, we created a complex 300’ stream channel that can readily support all salmon life stages including spawning adults, and rearing juvenile salmon. The constructed channel contains more than 30 pieces of wood, flood benches, boulders, and other stream features necessary to support fish populations. To restore a healthy riparian buffer, we installed more than 800 plants around the restoration site, creating esthetically pleasing and ecologically functional feature for the stream.

Within just six months after restoration, we observed salmon redds upstream of the former dam, and high abundances of juvenile fish utilizing the newly constructed channel, including the threatened Coho salmon, cutthroat trout and even threatened Chinook Salmon.

The Restoration, Acquisition and Stewardship program is committed to working with private landowners to achieve common goals of habitat restoration and ecological conservation while helping to remediate problems caused by deficient manmade structures posing threat to fish and private property. This project is a testament to the huge gains that can be achieved quickly when Tulalip is able to work collaboratively with landowners for mutual benefits.

Contact

• Natasha Coumou

  Restoration Ecologist