We are pleased to present a new booklet for landowners and other community members wondering how they can help restore the Yakima watershed and the fish runs that call it home:
The Yakima Basin: A Handbook for Healthier Waters
This booklet is the product of a broad partnership of organizations involved in watershed restoration in the Yakima Basin. A huge thanks to the lead authors, Tricia Snyder (previously of the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board), Melissa Speeg (Kittitas Conservation Trust) and Ashton Bunce (Yakama Nation Fisheries).
Additional Background on Habitat Restoration
Below are external links to websites covering many of the topics found in this booklet.
The Yakima Basin
Additional Information
State of the Salmon – State of the Salmon – Middle Columbia
WDFW – Species in Washington
Yakima Basin Overview
Yakima Basin Habitats
Additional Information
The 4 C’s of a Healthy Stream
Additional Information
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes – Habitat: The Four C’s
Floodplain Reconnection
Additional Information
American Rivers – Reconnecting Rivers to Floodplains
MCFEG – Floodplain Reconnection, Side Channels, & Instream Restoration
Floodplain Reconnection Projects
Yakama County – Gap to Gap
MCFEG – Reecer Creek Floodplain Restoration
MCFEG – Wapato Reach Restoration
MCFEG – Cowiche Creek Restoration
YBIP – Nelson Dam Removal
Large Wood Restoration
Additional Information
King County Water and Land Services – Large Woody Debris as an Ecological Function
Large Wood Restoration Projects
Yakama Nation – Yakima Basin “Wood Fiesta”
MCFEG – North Fork Teanaway River Restoration
KCT – Cle Elum River Instream Habitat and Side Channel Restoration Project
Beavers and Beaver Dam Analogs
Additional Information
MCFEG – Beavers Improve Habitat
MCFEG – Beaver Brochure
Planting By Streams
Planting by Streams Projects
MCFEG – Mercer Creek Riparian Restoration
Instream Flow and Water Quality
Washington Department of Ecology- Protecting Stream Flows
Protecting Instream Flows: How Much Water Does a River Need?”>Environmental Protection Agency – Protecting Instream Flows: How Much Water Does a River Need?
Washington Department of Ecology – Smart Resource Management Means Adequate Water Supplies for People, Farms and Fish
Forests & Fish – Fish Habitat Protection
Fish Passage Improvements
KCT – Williams Creek Aquatic Restoration
KCCD – Manastash Creek Restoration Project
KCT – Currier/Reecer Creek Barrier Removal and Revegetation Project
Managing Road Impacts
Forests & Fish – Road Improvements
Additional Resources for Habitat Restoration Assistance
There are lots of options and opportunities for private property owners to work with non-profits, conservation districts, tribes, and governmental agencies to restore streams. After learning more about the goals and ideas for your property, they can provide technical guidance and work to get necessary project approvals and funding to implement a project.
Conservation Districts
Projects on your own property can be some of the easiest to undertakeand can often be completed on your own with no required permits. Work with your local conservation district in Benton County , Kittitas County, and Yakima County.
Kittitas County Conservation District
North Yakima Conservation District
South Yakima Conservation District
Restoration Specialists
You can also work with riparian planting experts at Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, Kittitas Conservation Trust, the WDFW Habitat Program, and Yakama Nation Fisheries.