In the past half year, DNR’s Aquatic Restoration Program, in partnership with the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group (SPSSEG), completed two shoreline restoration projects in Case Inlet and at Penrose Point State Park in southern Puget Sound.
Both projects removed old bulkheads and other types of shoreline “armoring,” with the goal of returning the beach, shoreline, and marine waters to a more natural state.
Case Inlet Shoreline Enhancement Project
This project removed 200 feet of concrete bulkhead and 980 cubic yards of artificial fill from the northwest shoreline of Case Inlet, in Mason county. Removal of these materials will help restore shoreline processes and increase the quantity of nearshore habitat for fish and wildlife by approximately 10,000 sq. feet.
SPSSEG managed the project with joint funding from DNR and the Salmon Funding Recovery Board.
Total DNR contributions: $20,000 (funded by the 2012 Jobs Now Act legislation)
Total project cost: $68,000
Penrose Point Shoreline Enhancement Project
This project removed a 750-foot-long creosote bulkhead and artificial fill along a beach at Penrose Point State Park, in Pierce County.
The beach is backed by a bluff, and the goal of this project was to reconnect the bluff and riparian processes to the nearshore ecosystem. Project goals also included improving the beach profile for rearing and/or foraging salmon, enhancing forage fish spawning habitat, and improving local water quality. Forage fish are small fish such as sand lance and herring that are prime food for salmon.
Removal included 120 creosote-treated pilings, 210 cubic yards of creosote-treated timbers, and 4,000 cubic yards of artificial shoreline fill. The construction process also included re-shaping the contour of the shoreline, adding 1,500 cubic yards of beach gravel, and placing 12 large, unanchored pieces of wood to help rebuild damaged habitat.
SPSSEG and Washington State Parks co-managed the project from DNR, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Puget Sound Partnership, and the Salmon Recovery Funding Board.
Total DNR contributions: $69,000 (funded by the 2012 Jobs Now Act legislation)
Total project cost: $414,000
View before and after photos of the projects.
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