The project, smith creek tidal and estuary habitat and restoration, will permanently restore 140 acres of tidal marsh by removing a pair of tide-gated culverts from a pacific county, WA roadway and…

The project, smith creek tidal and estuary habitat and restoration, will permanently restore 140 acres of tidal marsh by removing a pair of tide-gated culverts from a pacific county, WA roadway and replacing them with a single-span, 110FT bridge at the mouth of smith creek near its confluence with the naselle river in willapa BAY. This will also open 8.7 miles of freshwater, salmon bearing streams for anadromous species. An 800FT long cross levee will be constructed from the northwest corner of the bridge westward to meet the uplands that will maintain the competence of the existing private levee system to the west of the restoration area. Tidal channels will be reestablished within 63 acres of the site and topographic diversity mounds will help compensate for subsidence and kick start saltmarsh habitat development. Immediately downstream of the bridge, a 50 FT wide breach will be opened in the existing levee on river-right (northeast) and excavated to an elevation of 8.1 FT with a small channel connected to an existing interior channel. This will provide some connectivity for salmon and other aquatic organisms to the adjacent marsh immediately upon exiting the smith creek area. 90 designs are in place, permits are in process and the project is ready to be implemented during the summer of 2023 pending the requested amount of additional funding. The project is a collaborative effort between pacific county, pacific conservation district, washington department of fish and wildlife and private landowners with support from the nature conservancy and the willapa national wildlife refuge and a variety of funding sources.