WMP in Kitsap Sun Article #1: Ross Creek has a culvert problem
READ the full Article by the WMP team on the Kitsap Sun
The Waterman Mitigation Partners team is pleased to have published this article in the Kitsap Sun. Our aim with this article series is to directly engage and inform the general public on the issues of ecological restoration and environmental impacts as they relate to life in on the Kitsap Peninsula. We plan to partner with local news organizations in an effort to elevate the dialog around this critical work that we are proud to be a part of.
***EXCERPT from KS Article***
The Kitsap Peninsula is a perfect example of the Pacific Northwest’s legendary natural beauty. However, many ecosystems are not as healthy as they appear, and some are collapsing altogether. Fortunately, an unprecedented effort is underway to set Kitsap down a path of sustainable development and renewed biological diversity.
Waterman Mitigation Partners team members Dustin Haydock and Mike Stoican work their way up Ross Creek through silty muck and aquatic grasses exposed by low tide. The creek flows freely until Sinclair Inlet where it is met by thousands of cubic yards of fill dirt that was placed at the site in the 20th century. Atop the fill sits an aging restaurant (Locals will remember this little structure fondly as the former site of the Clam Bake & Swimdeck). State Route 166, the waterfront road heading out of Port Orchard on its way to Gorst, blocks the creek’s natural flow. At SR-166 the salmon bearing creek is funneled into a tiny culvert — choking the passage as it enters the Puget Sound.
Dustin Haydock doing site research in a Seabeck wetland
Dustin points to the spread of the creek.
“You can see how the creek wants to naturally fan out as it enters Sinclair Inlet - but the fill, the old building, the culvert and road severely restrict the tidal flow,” ………..READ FULL ARTICLE