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Habitat Restoration

Cripple Creek riparian restoration project - Monroe, Washington

Habitat restoration projects are a cornerstone of salmon recovery efforts throughout the Northwest, while also serving to protect water quality, enhance biodiversity and provide aesthetic benefits to our communities. We provide end-to-end project management for small and large restoration projects alike, from conceptual design to permitting and project implementation and subsequent monitoring.

  • Stream and riparian restoration design and implementation
  • Site analyses, delineation, and survey
  • Permitting, easement, and approval processes
  • Volunteer coordination
  • In-stream and riparian monitoring and evaluation
  • Culvert assessment for fish passage

Sample Projects:
Hope Creek Restoration – Community Salmon Fund Grant & City of Issaquah: Working through the Sustainable Fisheries Foundation, our non-profit affiliate, Steward and Associates staff developed a restoration project for Hope Creek that will provide for flood control, restore salmon access to the wetlands and the creek, and enhance the wetland by replacing invasive plants with native species. The project, completed in Summer 2006, reestablished fish passage into Hope Creek after more than 40 years, providing access to high quality off-channel rearing habitat and new spawning habitat. Through careful design, this project will maintain and enhance valued wetland functions and reconnect this important off-channel habitat to Issaquah Creek, while providing the increased conveyance necessary to alleviate flooding. To make this project possible, Steward and Associates staff brokered a partnership between private landowners, the City of Issaquah, and local watershed stewardship organizations, and secured the grant funding, matching funds and in-kind contributions necessary to see it to completion.
City of Monroe – Cripple Creek Riparian Restoration Project: The City of Monroe contracted with Steward and Associates to develop and implement a riparian restoration project on Cripple Creek in the Snohomish River basin. The project area consists of a 1.5 acre site on Cripple Creek. The site was selected based on salmonid occurrence, severity of habitat degradation, and site potential. Coordination with partners and affected parties, including utilities and landowners was necessary to obtain approvals and develop specific design criteria to ensure that benefits to fish and wildlife and their habitat is provided, while complications to the functions and interests of the affected parties are avoided. The site was delineated, a planting plan designed, and trees and shrubs were selected and planted based on the design and site specific characteristics. A monitoring and maintenance plan was developed and regular monitoring and maintenance reports are to be submitted to the City of Monroe.
Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation – Brookside Creek Restoration: The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation - a local not-for-profit citizens' group - is engaged in efforts to restore fish passage through a series of culverts located on private residential properties. Brookside Creek is known to support coho salmon and is a tributary to McAleer Creek which also supports Chinook salmon and steelhead in the north Lake Washington watershed. Steward and Associates is helping the foundation to select restoration strategies, apply for fish passage funding grants, and to identify engineering solutions and contractors for the project. The project highlights Steward and Associates' continued commitment to supporting local watershed restoration efforts.
City of Bellevue, Newport Creek Stream Restoration Design 1: Mr. Doyle was the lead fishery biologist in a project for stream restoration design which surveyed stream reaches in Newport Creek. This work included habitat, macroinvertebrate surveys, and wetland delineations. He worked in coordination with hydraulic engineers and landscape architects to develop a restoration design specific to the needs of coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout in this urbanized watershed.
Lyon Creek Streambank Stabilization/Restoration - City of Mountlake Terrace, Washington: Lyon Creek is a salmon-bearing stream that drains into the north end of Lake Washington. Streambank erosion along a portion of the stream in Mountlake Terrace has undermined a sidewalk and is threatening to damage a fiber-optic cable and other critical utilities. Steward and Associates worked with the client to develop a plan to stabilize the bank, relocate the stream channel away from the sidewalk, and significantly improve habitat conditions for salmon. Our staff coordinated the design process with our project engineers, developed the revegetation plan, and prepared the permitting documents. Construction is scheduled for 2006.