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WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...Snow and isolated freezing rain expected. Total snow
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* WHERE...Kittitas Valley.
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Top Story
Dam removal on Manastash Creek completes historic effort
Migrating and spawning fish will be able to access the headwaters of Manastash Creek for the first time in a century after the removal of the Reed Diversion dam, which started on Nov. 7.
The diversion removal, west of Cove Road bridge, is the last step in a multi-million dollar project to return fish passage to Manastash Creek. The removal will open up 20 miles of stream habitat for steelhead trout, an endangered species. Dozens of dams and diversion have been removed, and fish screens placed over irrigation canals, up and down the creek.
“I almost can’t believe we are finally here. It’s been a test of patience and perseverance for sure,” said Anna Lael, district manager for the Kittitas County Conservation District.
The completion of the Manastash Creek restoration was the work of many organizations, she said. The Washington Environmental Council, the Kittitas Reclamation District, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Manastash Water Ditch Association and many more organizations all helped make it possible.
"It took so much to get to this point," Lael said. "And just because this project is finished doesn't mean we are done."
The removal
The removal of the Reed Diversion will be completed sometime in mid-December depending on weather conditions, Lael said. Pipkin Inc., a construction company out of Wenatchee, was hired for the project. The projects on Manastash Creek were made possible by $2.24 million in funding from the state Legislature and $1.3 from the Bonneville Power Association. Removal of the Reed Diversion alone will cost $600,000.
The dam will be replaced with a "rougher channel," where the stream is regraded, large boulders are placed at the bottom and a gravel stream bed is put on top of the boulders, she said. The change to the stream should somewhat reduce flooding in the area and help the stream to flow naturally.
The conservation district has been working for 15 years to increase fish passage from the mouth of Yakima and beyond, Lael said. The conservation district plans to do further stream restoration projects in Coleman, Cooke, Caribou and Parke creeks.
Steelhead trout
Sean Gross, fisheries biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the Reed Diversion removal is the last step in opening up a significant watershed for fish habitat.
"This is the last big piece," Gross said. "It's a major fork in the road."
Unlike Wilson, Naneum or Whiskey creek, Manastash Creek has few developments on it, he said. The creek is forested in many places and still has its floodplains. It also has a large amount of public ownership and is protected in parts by the Nature Conservancy.
NMFS has been conducting tests on native species and found that the upper Manastash Creek watershed is a productive fish habitat, Gross said.
The Reed Diversion posed a problem to the fish because of its elevation, he said. The fisheries service has seen steelhead trying to jump over it in the past.
It's also valuable because it will diversify the locations of the spawning grounds in the county, Gross said. So far a lot of fish habitat exists in the Upper County where there isn't a lot of development. In the case of a disaster of some kind, it's best not to have fish spawning in the same spot.
"You don't want all your eggs in one basket, literally," Gross said.
The steelhead trout species in the upper Yakima River past Roza Dam has been endangered since 1999. The population at the time was down to less than a hundred fish.
Now the fish population is at a little over 200 as of 2014, but has reached highs of close to 400 steelhead. Historical steelhead numbers were about a little over 25,000 in the upper Yakima.
If the NMFS can get fish populations in the lower Yakima up, such as in the Naches River tributaries, the steelhead trout could be taken off of the endangered list when the population reaches 500.
There are dozens if not a hundred future projects needed to restore fish habitat in Kittitas County. The Wilson, Naneum and Whiskey creek waterways pose a large problem because of how much development has occurred next to them. In the future NMFS wants to extend fish habitat all the way up into the reservoirs.
