Tulalip Tribes and DNR team up on salmon restoration project along the Pilchuck River
GRANITE FALLS — The faint whoosh of helicopter blades cut through the sound of running water as Rachel Benbrook pointed out an engineered log jam on the Pilchuck River.
Benbrook leads the state’s Department of Natural Resources watershed resilience program, which has teamed up with the Tulalip Tribes to restore an 8-mile stretch of the Upper Pilchuck River. In three days, Chinook helicopters will fly 320 logs to 30 designated spots to create log jams with the hopes of creating critical habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon.
“We’ve learned after a couple hundred years of taking wood out of our rivers how important it is to have wood in the river,” Benbrook said on Wednesday. “Salmon need all different types of habitats to thrive — large wood creates that complexity.”
She continued to explain large woody debris helps create pools where juvenile fish can rest and hide, with large trunks casting shadows to keep river temperatures cool. The wood also slows down the water, allowing sediment to pile up in areas that salmon can use as spawning grounds.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/tulalip-tribes-and-dnr-team-up-on-salmon-restoration-project-along-the-pilchuck-river/