Nisqually Estuary Restoration

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Nisqually Estuary Restoration
Project Sponsor Nisqually Indian Tribe Project
Manager Florian Leischner Project Partner US
Fish and Wildlife Service - Nisqually National
Wildlife Refuge Project Engineering Wiltermood
Associates Project Construction R.G. Forestry
Consultants
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NisquallyWatershed
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Priority Habitat Areas
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Goals
Estuary Restoration (Acres)
Mainstem Protection ( Protected)
Hatchery Stray Reduction ( Hatchery Origin
Strays)
Ohop Restoration (Miles)
Mashel Restoration (Miles)
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Progress to Date
Estuary Restoration (Acres)
Mainstem Protection ( Protected)
Hatchery Stray Reduction ( Hatchery Origin
Strays)
Ohop Restoration (Miles)
Goal
Progress
Mashel Restoration (Miles)
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Estuary Habitat Condition

• Main loss of habitat due to diking and conversion
  to pastureland
• About half of original estuary was converted to
  pasture and freshwater wetland behind the dikes

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Estuary Land Ownership
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Nisqually Estuary Restoration Phase I completed
2002, 208,000
Red Salmon Creek
Nisqually River
Location of dikes removed during project
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Phase 1 2002
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2002 First tide water moving into pasture
grass
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Phase II
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Phase II Pasture Plowing
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Phase II Dike Removal
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Phase II Dike Removal
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Phase II tidal channel reconnection
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Phase II first tide entering channel
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Phase II first tide entering channel
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Phase II first tide site bubbling
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100 new acres of estuary
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Aerial View After Phase 2 Restoration
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Measuring our Progress Tidal Channel Formation

• Channels are reestablishing in the phase II site.

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Natural Salt Marsh
Phase II
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Measuring our Progress - Vegetation

• Salt marsh vegetation is rapidly colonizing the
  Phase I site doubling in size each year
• Salt marsh vegetation is already appearing in
  Phase II, less than a year after construction

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Measuring our Progress - Fish

• 11 of the 17 known fish species in the Nisqually
  estuary found using the Phase I site
• Maximum count of over 20,000 fish, 600 juvenile
  Chinook in one tide cycle in Phase I
• Already over 25 wild juvenile Chinook, 100 wild
  chum caught using the Phase II site

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Nisqually Estuary Restoration
700 acres
I-5
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Our proud project manager on site
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We are confident that by working together we
can achieve our goal of returning wild salmon
stocks to abundance. Billy Frank, Jr.,
Nisqually Tribal Elder and Chairman, Northwest
Indian Fisheries Commission
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Thank you to our project funders Salmon
Recovery Funding Board Pacific Salmon
Commission National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation Washington Dept. of Transportation