Leadership on fish passage does exist

In response to the Editorial Board’s article published on June 14 where you asked ‘Where is leadership on salmon, culverts?’ It is here in Thurston County. Thurston County has pioneered a fish barrier program that is a model across the state. We have taken proactive and deliberate steps to remove barriers in county streams and waterways. In 2016 the Board of Commissioners funded a new program to restore fish passage habitat and allocated $4 million from the Real Estate Excise Tax over two years to begin the process. In March the Board approved work to begin on five fish passage barrier removal projects. They will be completed this year and will open seven and-a-half miles of streams. The projects were selected after careful review and consultation with resource agencies, the Squaxin, Chehalis, and Nisqually tribes. They include the installation of pre-fabricated bridges at:

1. Hunter Point Road

2. Troy Drive Southeast

3. Flumerfelt Road Southeast; and

4. Upgraded stream crossings at 26th Avenue Northeast, and Waddell Creek Road Southwest at Pants Creek.

In addition, Public Works has identified over 200 other fish passage barriers. The Board plans on addressing these barriers through a strategic approach that balances financial obligations with barrier removal needs. Thurston County’s program is unique from other jurisdictions where fish barrier removal activities are not associated with a transportation project. If leadership on fish passage barrier removal is what you’re seeking, Thurston County is and continues to be the leader in fish barrier removal strategies.