U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers' Relocation Of Evans Creek Temporarily Affects Salmon

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U.S Army Corps of Engineers - Seattle District

"...The Evans Creek Relocation project is such a priority that the WRIA 8 Council recently voted to allocate $450,000 towards it."  -- Redmond Councilmember Vanessa Kritzer, 8/16/2021

The U.S. Army Corps says:  Mr. Yoder, please see the City responses to your comments: 

 

• Are Chinook presently living and rearing in Evans Creek or one of its tributaries?  Or, will just Chinook habitat improve, setting the stage for Chinook migration? 
• Response:

The City’s Biological Assessment that was submitted with the Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application (JARPA) package describes current occurrence of Chinook in the project area.  Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) inventories document Chinook spawning occurring in Evans Creek in the project area.  However, the City’s instream habitat surveys conducted for the project indicate that the creek lacks suitable gravel and cobble substrate, and pool/riffle habitat complexity required for spawning.  Therefore, it is unlikely that Chinook still spawn in this reach.  The project reach of Evans Creek does support migration of both adults and rearing juveniles.  Juvenile rearing habitat is present, particularly in the most upstream portion of the project reach.

 

Once the project is completed, the project will enhance rearing habitat for Chinook Salmon, steelhead, and other salmonids, and augment fish passage to the upper watershed where Chinook spawning habitat occurs.

 

• You say there will be a temporary disturbance to fish and their habitat during Phase 2 construction.  How do you define "temporary."  (1 month? 1 year? 1 week?)  
• Response:  

Temporary in this case is 3 months.  All in-water work associated with Phase 2 construction will be restricted to occur within the proposed July 1 through September 30 in-water work window of a single season and would not coincide with major salmonid migrations (either upstream migrations of adults, or downstream migrations of juveniles).  This in-water work window is regulated by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the project will need to meet all WDFW permit conditions.

 

• You say one acre of rearing will be replaced. Replaced with what?  How many acres of rearing are there now?
• Response:  

One of the project’s stated goals is to “Provide the type of habitat needed to support significantly enhanced juvenile salmon rearing.”  The existing Evans Creek channel has just under one acre of instream habitat that will be relocated; a portion of that existing area is rearing habitat.  The proposed Evans Creek channel will increase instream habitat to more than seven acres within the project area and improve the quality of that habitat.  At this point in the design we don’t have a final number for constructed rearing acreage, but it will be an increase and enhanced from existing conditions.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Colleen C. Anderson

Project Manager, Regulatory Branch

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District

Office:  206-764-3262

colleen.c.anderson@usace.army.mil