Nisqually estuary might be restored
Hundreds of acres of salt marshes and mud flats - drained and diked to create farmland more than 100 years ago - would be restored to benefit salmon and other aquatic life in a 15-year plan for Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
Refuge officials plan to break down most of the system of dikes that forms a barrier against Puget Sound and revive 699 acres of former estuary, where young fish feed and hide. A smaller dike would be built to protect the refuge headquarters, visitor center and more than 200 acres of freshwater wetland.
The move, which includes replacing a popular trail, is part of a refuge conservation plan that's been in the works since 1997 and is about to be formally approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The overall plan is estimated to cost $30 million.
Best known as a haven for migratory birds, the 2,925-acre sanctuary surrounds the mouth of the Nisqually River, about 20 miles southwest of Tacoma. Last year, the refuge hosted 140,000 visitors, including thousands of students.
More than 275 kinds of birds at least periodically populate the area. They include song birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, herons and osprey.
The refuge was created 30 years ago after people pressured government officials to protect the fragile delta from further development.
The saltwater resurrection is significant because so little estuarine habitat exists elsewhere in Puget Sound, said refuge manager Jean Takekawa, a wildlife biologist.
Over the past 150 years, diking and urban development have destroyed 80 percent of Puget Sound's estuaries. Biologists believe the habitat loss has contributed to declines in populations of salmon and other fish and wildlife.
Though some neighboring farmers question the merits and cost of the plan, backers say dike removal at the refuge will increase estuarine habitat throughout the South Sound by 46 percent.
"That's a very powerful figure," Takekawa said, adding that it illustrates what an important contribution the refuge could make to the region.
Besides tearing down dikes, the 15-year plan envisions doubling the size of the refuge and extending its boundary south of Interstate 5 to include agricultural lands that adjoin McAllister Creek and the Nisqually River.
"The plan reflects our place in the landscape," Takekawa said. "It will provide a better mosaic of habitats, including the slopes of the bluffs ... and it will protect water quality."
The proposed estuary revival appeals to the Nisqually Tribe, which operates two salmon hatcheries on the Nisqually River and is also trying to restore a wild run of chinook salmon.
David Troutt, the tribe's natural resource director, predicted that the new refuge habitat will double the survival of young salmon that migrate down the river. He called the Nisqually estuary "the engine that drives the food chain for the Puget Sound" and said it already attracts salmon from throughout the region.
Continue reading this story from the Tacoma News Tribune:
Nisqually estuary might be restored
