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MASON CONSERVATION DISTRICT
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Skokomish River: Farms, Flood and Fish

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​Results for the 2023 Skokomish Flood Survey

​The Skokomish Watershed has a long history of frequent flooding. Hundreds of projects, large and small, have been undertaken by those living, working, and owning land within the watershed.
We reached out to the community to help us better understand flood impacts and trends over the past decade.  We hope to use this information, along with follow-up community meetings, to begin formulating flood improvement objectives to help measure our success over time in our efforts to reduce impacts of flooding on the community surrounding the Skokomish River.  A survey was sent to 255 Skokomish Valley landowners.  A total of 65 surveys were returned.  The results are summarized in the document at the link below: 
skokomish_flood_survey_results.pdf
File Size: 247 kb
File Type: pdf
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Read the Vance Creek Watershed Assessment and Action Plan

The intent of this draft of the assessment is to identify feasible strategies for habitat restoration in Vance Creek that can be implemented with broad stakeholder agreement. Stakeholders include valley residents, Mason County, fisheries co-managers (state and tribal) and MCD. Refinements will be made to the strategy following stakeholder engagement and priority projects will be identified for early phase implementation.
vance_creek_final_assessment_and_action_plan_081822.pdf
File Size: 70416 kb
File Type: pdf
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Skokomish Estuary Restoration

Since 2006, Mason CD has been working with the Skokomish Tribe to restore the Skokomish Estuary on Hood Canal.  Both geographically and in respect to natural resources, the Skokomish Estuary is at the heart of Mason County.  Along with its location near the center of Mason County at the Great Bend of Hood Canal, the Skokomish Estuary is also of key importance to the health and abundance of many marine and wildlife species for which this county is known.

In the beginning, Mason CD and the Skokomish Tribe partnered with Tacoma Power to restore the west side of the old Nalley Farm, established by Marcus Nalley (founder of Nalley Foods).  This project, Phase 1, removed 5000' of dike to reopen 116 acres of intertidal wetlands.  Immediately thereafter, salmon spawned, seals moved in, and bird use exploded.  

Phase 2, in 2010, restored 215 acres of intertidal wetland, and required the contractor to build a 210' bridge across Nalley Slough to Nalley Island.  The contractor then removed 2.5 miles of dike, excavating and hauling 93,000 cubic yards of material.  Much of this material was stockpiled for future restoration.  In 2012, Mason CD planted native vegetation on 46 acres of Nalley Island and placed over 200 pieces of large woody debris on the island using a twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopter.  The contractor then began the first part of Phase 3.  This includes filling large remaining borrow ditches, recreating tidal channels in their historic locations, and constructing 29 new stream crossings across Skokomish Flats Road and utility access roads to reconnect tidal channels all the way back into the freshwater wetlands.  This work was completed in summer 2016 and reconnected an additional 1512 acres of wetland to the estuary and shoreline.  

Changes we have seen since the beginning of the Skokomish Valley Estuary Restoration include: 
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  • Reduced flood severity in the Skokomish Valley
  • Restoration of shellfish beds in the estuary
  • Larger salmon juvenile sizes due to access to more food in the larger wetland estuary
  • Larger bird populations
  • A doubling in size of the underwater eel grass beds, important habitat for crab
  • Fewer low dissolved oxygen events and fish kills due to higher removal of excess nutrients in marine water
  • Reopening the view of the entire estuary between US 101 and US 106
For more information about Skokomish Watershed Restoration activities contact Colin Tierney at [email protected] or 360-427-9436 est. 101
Mason Conservation District
450 W Business Park RD
Shelton, WA 98584
Phone: (360) 427-9436
Fax: (360) 427-4396

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Mason Conservation District (MCD) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, or sex in administration of its programs or activities, and MCD does not intimidate or retaliate against any individual or group because they have exercised their rights to participate in actions protected, or oppose action prohibited, by 40 C.F.R Parts 5 and 7, or for the purpose of interfering with such rights. Contact Rhonda Nydegger, Finance & Administration Manager, for more information. Email: [email protected]  Mail: Mason Conservation District, 450 W Business Park RD, Shelton WA 98584.
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