Shoreline barriers hurt Sound's web of life

Bulkheads and dikes destroy valuable near-shore habitat

By Chester Allen and John Dodge, The Olympian | • Published January 12, 2007

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BELFAIR STATE PARK - Environmental engineer Pat McCullough grinned as a bulldozer chewed away at a boulder-studded dike he can't wait to tear down.

When that 1950s-era dike at Belfair State Park goes down sometime this week, Big Mission Creek will flow back into its natural streambed, 600 feet of Hood Canal shoreline and beach will return to a natural state, and an estuary that was filled in with 20,000 cubic feet of dirt 50 years ago will be reborn.

"We expect to quickly see salt marsh, pickleweed and grasses," McCullough said. "The neat thing is that people will get to see and use a restored beach, and it's good for salmon and Hood Canal."

But McCullough, who oversees the project for the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, also feels a little guilty.

That's because a short distance away is an investment house he owns that is tucked behind a $250,000 concrete bulkhead. McCullough and his business partners are afraid to tear down the bulkhead because they could lose half of the house's valuable waterfront to salt water.

McCullough and his partners bought the house in June.

"Taking it out is not an option at this point," McCullough said. "We own 750 feet of waterfront there, and 650 feet of it is bulkheaded."

McCullough's personal dilemma isn't unusual around Puget Sound, where habitat loss from population growth and development has robbed dozens of Puget Sound plants, birds, fish and marine mammals of their homes, their food sources and the water quality they need to survive. For instance:

• About one-third of Puget Sound's shoreline, or 800 miles, has been barricaded with bulkheads, dredged or filled in for human use, destroying valuable habitat that plants and animals need to survive.

• Since the 1880s, about 73 percent of Puget Sound's salt marsh habitat has been lost, with the number approaching 100 percent in urban bays.

• More than 1,000 Puget Sound species are at risk - including 40 species listed on state or federal threatened and endangered species lists - or are candidates for special protection.

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