Total site map, showing implementation year and current schedule. Letters denote photo locations. Flow is from right to left.

Flood Risk

Results of a recent Climate Impacts Risk Assessment show that there will be more frequent and intense floods in the future. The recent flooding throughout Whatcom County highlights the need to reduce flood risk for properties in flood prone areas.

South Fork Nooksack River at river mile 13.15 looking downstream. The project reach is low-gradient with high quality chinook salmon spawning, rearing, and holding habitat potential. Location A on map.

Jagged boulders along the edge of the river (sometimes referred to as riprap) form homogeneous in-stream habitat, but there is excellent floodplain potential in this location. Location B on map.

Everyone gets to help restore the South Fork!

The South Fork Nooksack River is home to three species that are listed as threatened on the Endangered Species List: chinook, steelhead, and bull trout. Habitat degradation is the leading cause for the decline of WRIA 1 (Nooksack Watershed) salmonid populations (WRIA 1 2005). A recent die-off of over 2,500 South Fork Nooksack early Chinook in September 2021 illustrates the severity of the habitat problems that are now being exacerbated by climate change. Most of the mortalities occurred in the project reach (LNR 2021), highlighting the need for habitat restoration. The photo below was presented on a 60 Minutes segment (the Vanishing Wild) that aired on January 1, 2023 (0:30 to 3:00 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TqhcZsxrPA or 15:15 to 18:05 at https://www.cbsnews.com/video/60minutes-2023-01-01/#x)

Adult chinook mortality event. September 2021. From left: Frank Lawrence III, Alex Levell, and Chris Phair. Location C on map.

Here are several dead chinook as seen from an overhead drone. Flow is from left to right. Location C on map.

This is more like our goal! Adult chinook salmon holding under an ELJ in the lower South Fork Nooksack River. Photo composed by Ian Smith.

Update 2022: Lummi Nation Response to Chinook Mortality Event

The root cause of the mortality event is severely compromised habitat function from legacy and ongoing degradation and alteration.

Restoration Project Development

To support LNR with implementing the early stages of the Phase 3 project, Herrera Environmental Consultants, Inc. (Herrera) has summarized the existing (pre-project) geomorphic and hydraulic conditions and habitat restoration opportunities within the Phase 3 reach. Herrera developed a two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic model of the Phase 3 reach following a site visit to it on September 15, 2022. Herrera used the model results and observations of the current geomorphic and habitat conditions of the reach made during the site visit to identify habitat restoration opportunities, and to identify existing flood and geomorphic related risks (i.e., bank erosion, channel migration and channel avulsion) to nearby infrastructure and private property.

The general approach to improving habitat conditions in the Phase 3 reach is to implement restoration measures that promote the natural physical processes that create and sustain diverse and complex habitat conditions that ultimately promote recovery of ESA listed salmon species including Puget Sound Chinook, Steelhead and Bull Trout. Specifically, recovery of the South Fork early Chinook is essential to recovering the threatened Puget Sound ESU and for restoring runs to sustainable and harvestable levels for local tribal communities. Therefore, the restoration strategy is to achieve increased habitat function through restoring lost channel processes and conditions by emulating, to the greatest extent possible, the probable historical stream and channel conditions with immediate and/or near-term benefits under a range flows and conditions, for as long a duration as possible. To accomplish this WRIA 1 co-managers established target habitat conditions for the South Fork restoration project elements and performance monitoring. Herrera and LNR are developing designs matching such targets. The existing conditions and restoration opportunities report is at the top of this site.

The project team presented 3 draft concepts at the June 14, 2023 Community Workshop #2. We received feedback from the meeting attendees and are proceeding with the preferred alternative. The preferred alternative is currently being modeled and will become the preliminary design. Right now, the FEMA no-rise policy is limiting restoration opportunities. Herrera is designing lower profile of some ELJs, moving banks back, and excavating wider forested floodplain channels to limit rise. The preliminary design will be completed by winter 2024. So, please review the attached concepts and provide feedback to the contacts below.

Here is a summary by the engineer of record for the preferred alternative:

• We are expanding the channel width (generally through the reach from RM 13.2 to 13.8) 
• Trying to hold the right bank firm, and more expansion to the left bank. 
• For the narrow straight part of the channel (between convergence pool and Saxon Road area from RM 13.6 to RM 13.8) we will need some right bank offset because the left bank has limited expansion opportunities.  There we will offset the right bank back to the existing high flow side channel to retain the existing top of the higher bank (i.e., removing that right bank terrace). 
• Maintaining the 4 ELJs along Saxon Road between RM 13.25 and 13.5 (because we know we will need something there to roughen and keep the channel from incising and having the left bank point bar grow again). 
• We will see how that goes and report back to discuss flood impacts/benefits and what ELJ additions make sense.

The Phase 1 Adaptive Management preferred alternative that we’re moving forward with for final modeling and for which the prelim design will be based on will be moving the hatchery outfall channel upstream, adding a flood fence and berm to protect Saxon Road and the hatchery, and adding ELJs to promote channel occupation in the side channel. A short segment of the ditch downstream of the outlet channel will be filled by the new berm to possibly mitigate additional floodplain flow. Herrera is modeling the 100-yr discharge, and if the results are encouraging, proceed adding in ELJs along the right and left banks to address the Lummi Nation's desire to add more wood to the channel as part of this project.

Community Engagement

Engagement opportunities include:

• Community workshop #2 was held on June 14, 2023, at the Acme Presbyterian Church from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Meeting notes and the presentation will be posted to the top of this page soon. Early design concepts were showcased and discussed at the workshop. These are posted in the presentation. 
• Community workshop #1 was held on November 15, 2022, at the Acme Presbyterian Church from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Meeting notes and the presentation links are at the top of this page. The team introduced existing conditions and solicit feedback to select the preferred alternative. We were excited to see the interest that the attendants had in this project. Many of the community member's requests are currently being addressed are also linked above, including Lummi Nation response to the mortality event.
• Participation in Acme-VanZandt Subzone - LNR and Veda introduced the project at the January 19th, 2022 meeting.  
  
• Frequent communications provided via a Listserv and updates to this website,
• Presentations and in-person meetings with landowners, stakeholders, and established forums, 
• Two stakeholder meetings to share results of technical work and gather input from community members, 
• Other group and individual meetings. The team has met individually with one landowner and will continue to do so per request.
  

The project team is deeply committed to working with and engaging stakeholders through the duration of this project.

Stakeholders will have opportunities to weigh in on various topics, including but not limited to:

• the scope and scale of the problems the project is intended to address,
• prioritization approach and criteria for design alternatives, and 
• the preferred design alternative.

FUNDERS

• Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office - Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB)
• Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Whatcom County PUD
• Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

PARTNERS/SPONSORS

• Lummi Nation, with support from Herrera Environmental Consultants and Triangle Associates
• Private landowners (essential players)
• Whatcom County Public Works 
  
• Whatcom Land Trust
• Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatics 
• Acme VanZandt Flood Control Subzone Committee
• Salmon Recovery Staff Team 
• Nooksack Watershed Staff Team

For more information, please contact Alex Levell: alexl@lummi-nsn.gov