Hungry Harbor
Location: Mile Post 2 on State Route 401, Pacific County, Washington
Hungry Harbor is the third and final phase of the Columbia-Pacific Passage habitat restoration effort. This multi-phase project sought to restore hydrology and fish access to off-channel habitats disconnected due to 7 miles of continuous highway infrastructure on the Washington shoreline between Knapton Cove and the town of Chinook. This area was targeted for restoration after research indicated the Washington shoreline in this segment of the Columbia River to be the primary route taken by juvenile salmonids during their outmigration period. In winter of 2020, the Hungry Harbor phase of the restoration project was completed restoring hydrology and fish access to 4 acres of tidal marsh habitat, and over 2 miles of spawning habitat. A failing 60-inch culvert was decommissioned and replaced with a stream simulation (natural streambed bottom and large enough to accommodate 1.5 times the upstream channel bankfull width) 18-foot wide by 12-foot tall box culvert. Furthermore, the project removed impounded sediment and restored the pre-roadway gradient of the upstream floodplain wetland habitat, and added large wood structures creating local scour holes and pool formations, increasing cover opportunities and channel/hydraulic diversity, and providing substrate that supports primary production and in turn, increase foraging opportunities for salmon. Project partners: Bonneville Power Administration Greenwood Resources Inc./Lewis & Clark Timberlands Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board Pacific Marine Estuarine Partnership Salmon Recovery Funding Board US Fish and Wildlife Service Washington Coast Restoration and Resilience Initiative Washington State Department of Transportation Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office Related services: Restoration Planning & Implementation |
Location of Project |