Funded habitat recovery projects

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Upper Dungeness Road Decommissioning Project (Funded 2000)
Current Status: Closed

Update Fall, 2005: From Highway 101 east of Sequim, turn onto Louella Road at approximately milepost 269.2. After about 1 mile on Louella Road turn left onto Palo Alto Road and proceed roughly 5.5 miles to where the road dead ends at the beginning of the road decommissioning project which is now a trail using by hikers and bikers. Some of the techniques used in decomissioning the road were swales, rock bars to slow water, regrading the slope, use of coconut erosion mats, water bars, and log crib walls to protect from erosion. There are some steep slopes and slides within the project area, a result of the placement of the original road in a steep, wet area. Plantings include grasses, conifers and hardwoods and most of the old road area and slopes are covered with vegetation with the exception of the trail.

Project application short description: The project is located within the Dungeness River watershed on Forest Service road (FS) 2860 (0.0-4.8) and FS 2880 (0.0-1.5) on the north end of the Hood Canal Ranger District of the Olympic National Forest. The river miles directly effected are RM 15-19. The goal is to minimize road related delivery of coarse/fine sediment inputs to anadromous spawning & rearing habitat in the Dungeness River. Objectives are to improve hillslope hydrology and to reduce potential of management related mass wasting and surface erosion from roads. Decommissioning FS 2860 consists of removing culverts, unstable fill slopes, ripping road surface & out sloping segments. Soil bio engineering techniques for soil stabilization will also be performed.
FS 2880, 2860 stabilization consists of removing unstable fills, select out-sloping & improvement of drainage structures. An Environmental Assessment will be completed in Aug. 2000 with decision by Oct. 2000. Survey and design work is scheduled to begin in Fall 2000.
Fish listed as threatened under ESA include Chinook, summer chum, & bull trout. NMFS has designated all anadromous habitat accessible to Chinook as critical habitat, up to RM 18.7.