Bear Creek Restoration At Friendly Village

The restoration is intended to improve Chinook breeding habitat 

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The Adopt A Stream Foundation (AASF) has launched a major project to restore chinook salmon breeding habitat in the portion of Bear Creek that flows through Friendly Village, a forty plus acre manufactured home residence park operated by the King County Housing Authority in eastern Redmond.

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The project involves modifying the banks of the stream in ways that create pools and backwaters that encourage salmon to spawn and provide safe habitats for salmon fry, while they mature enough to be able to migrate back downstream to the ocean.  Stream modification is accomplished by using boulders to stabilize woody debris and logs securely into the banks in pre-designed patterns. (click image to enlarge.) 

The first phase of the project began in the last week of August and is expected to last about a month.  The idea is to recreate the salmon-    favorable stream conditions that existed before the land was cleared and cultivated.

AASF received grant funding for this project from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, which was created by the Washington State Legislature to protect and restore salmon habitat. In the near future, native shrubs and trees will be planted along the banks to cool instream temperatures and provide future woody debris.

-Reported and photos by John Reinke

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