Damage to the Estuine Wetland as Cascade
Creek Flows Into Buck Bay
The following email was sent to the Dept. of Ecology:
To: Chuck Steele and Erik Stockdale
Wa. State Dept of Ecology
I am a resident in Olga Wa in San Juan County.
Our property in is located on the shore of Orcas Island
where Cascade Creek flows into Buck Bay:
http://apps.ecy.wa.gov/shorephotos/scripts/bigphoto.asp?id=SNJ0830
There are several wetlands on and near our property.
Cascade Creek supports sea run cut throat a salmon run:
http://www.olgawater.com/salmon/salmon.html
There is a very nice estuine wetland in the area where
the stream flows into the bay. The county road crosses the creek
just before it enters the bay. The stream is channeled through
a culvert to pass under the road.
(Click on the picture for a larger view)
Winter storms a few years ago weakened the road embankment
and repairs were needed. Initially there was communication
between county road works and several parties interested in improving
the situation for fish passage. The repairs were urgent,
but the situation was not an emergency. There were discussions
of performing temporary repairs while funding was located to
build a better long term solution that is more fish friendly.
Attached is a letter delivered to the county from Dr. David Hoopes,
the Lead Entity Coordinator at the San Juan Conservation District.
The temporary fix was completed without coordinating with those
interested in the stream flow, salmon habitat and the estuine wetlands.
The original situation was marginal at best. The "temporary" repairs
involved replacing the embankment, inserting a plastic pipe inside
the concrete culvert, reducing the inside diameter from 36" to 30.5"
blocking off one overflow culvert, and reducing the diameter
of the remaining overflow culvert from 24" to 18".
The result is severe flooding. Attached is a picture of the situation
during the rains this January. Even when it has not been raining the
flow is so fast that the tide waters are no longer able to flow
back and forth thru the culvert. What used to be an intermittent
brackish area is now only receiving fresh water.
Are there maps available on line or elsewhere documenting the
estuine wetlands? Are these wetlands afforded any protection?
Are there funds available that can help us develop a better
long term solution? County road works describes the flooding
situation as acceptable and says there are no funds available
for improvements.
Any assistance or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Please call if there is any additional information I may
be able to provide.
Sincerely,
Sandy Taylor
Olga Wa
(360) 376 3815
Useful Links:
Plan
for conserving water in Mountain Lake
Diagram of
water flow in the Mountain Lake, Cascade Lake watersheds
Notes
on East Orcas Watershed Planning meetings
