With NOAA funding, the Quinault Indian Nation and its partners are building engineered log jams on remote tributaries in the Queets-Clearwater watershed. This project restores historically abundant salmon habitat and supports Tribal-led recovery efforts.
In 2015, low numbers of coho salmon returning to the Queets-Clearwater watershed to spawn forced the Quinault Indian Nation to close their salmon fisheries. "Coho not returning to rivers as projected meant no income for our fishermen and no food for our people to eat," said Cleve Jackson, spokesperson for the Quinault Indian Nation.
One major driver of salmon decline was the loss of spawning and rearing habitat due to the historic removal of old-growth trees. To address this loss, NOAA Fisheries' Office of Habitat Conservation funds projects that build engineered log jams on rivers and streams. In a place as large and remote as Washington's Olympic Peninsula, sometimes that means flying in supplies to locations inaccessible to vehicles and large machinery.
The Quinault Indian Nation and its partners, Trout Unlimited and The Nature Conservancy, are using helicopters to build more than 130 engineered large jams along 8 miles of instream habitat on the Queets-Clearwater watershed. Using helicopters to build them means the project team doesn't have to build roads to bring in equipment and supplies, sparing the ecosystem from further damage.
In the video below, Sean Ludden, Olympic Peninsula restoration project manager for Trout Unlimited, talks about building engineered log jams on Shale Creek, a tributary of the Clearwater River.
Engineered log jams mimic the ecological role of fallen old-growth trees by slowing water, capturing sediment and salmon spawning gravels, and reconnecting rivers to their floodplains and side channels. This creates the complex habitat salmon need throughout their lives. In the absence of instream wood, powerful winter floods can flush spawning gravels and sediment downstream. With this loss, the mainstream channels deepen, cutting off floodplains and side channels.
Alongside in-stream work, partners are restoring riparian forests by planting native species such as Sitka spruce. One day, the small spruce trees will reach old-growth size—possibly more than 200 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide—and the natural wood process will begin again.
Restoration projects like this one also support good-paying jobs for rural communities. Thanks in part to restoration funding, the Quinault Indian Nation is one of the region's largest employers for tribal members and other residents.
By supporting Tribal-led restoration, NOAA Fisheries and its partners are rebuilding the foundation for healthy salmon populations and the communities that depend on them.