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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHMP - HMP Habitat Managment Plan - 9/30/1991 STATE OF WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES HABITAT MANAGEMENT DIVISION September 19, 1991 U SEP 3 01991 MEMORANDUM GENERAL SERVICEc TO: Officer Duane "Mac" Makoviney Patrol Division FROM: Jim Fraser, Regional Habitat Manager Habitat Management Division SUBJECT: Hydraulic Violation, Unauthorized Culvert Install and Log Yarding in Stream, Unnamed Tributary to North Fork Goldsborough Creek, East 1/2, Section 18, Township 20 North, Range 04 West, Mason County, WRIA 14 . 0037 Chronology of Events On July 22 , 1991, I received a telephone call from a caller who requested anonymity and claimed logging was occurring close to a small stream tributary to North Fork Goldsborough Creek near the intersection of Highland Road and Matlock-Shelton Road. The caller claimed the loggers were cutting all the trees down near the stream. During that week I relayed this message on VoiceCom to Jerry Johnson and Laurie Adolphsen, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) . Adolphsen called me back on VoiceCom in early August and said she did not find the site. By mid-August she found the site and informed me that work had occurred in the stream including yarding logs in the stream and installing a culvert in the stream at a new log skid crossing. Also, she said all trees adjacent to the stream had been felled. She said no Forest Practice Approval (FPA) existed for the logging and skid road stream crossing. The names of those doing the work included: Owner: Don Likes Shelton (address not found yet) Tel. 426-7270 Operator: Dave Kamin West 261 Deyette Road Shelton, WA 98584 Tel. 426-0003 P '` E® S E P 3 0 1991 MASON CO. PLA H1t,!r DEPT. Officer Duane Makoviney September 19 , 1991 Page 2 In later August, Adolphsen and Johnson, DNR, and Shawn Orr, Mason County Planning Department, met on-site with Kamin. I understand that DNR will probably cite the participant(s) for violation of Forest Practice Act laws. On August 27 , 1991, I met on site with Kamin. The unnamed stream flowed across the unauthorized logged area for a length of approxi- mately g PP mately 800 feet. I evaluated the stream to have good quality fish habitat: width 6-10 feet, gradient moderate, flow (after recent summer rainstorm) 1-2 cubic feet per second, bed gravel noticeable, bank cover fair with bushes and small trees, instream cover good with a fair amount of woody debris and under-cut banks, 30 percent pools 70 percent riffles. Streamside shade canopy was poor as a result of felling all trees adjacent to the stream. I observed what appeared to be two 24-inch diameter culverts placed side by side in the stream at the skid bridge crossing site. The streambed was starting to become scoured and lowered at the culverts outlets. A drop would occur this winter after the stream scoured during high flows. Upstream migration of adult salmon and trout would be hindered or fully blocked. The culverts are greatly undersized. A proper culvert would have to be at least five feet in diameter. The road approaches have slight gradients to the crossing and are not armored to prevent erosion and siltation to the stream during rains. Culvert fill and ends are not armored against erosion. I observed recent streambed sedimentation for 300 feet downstream from the culverts that had originated from the culvert installation and eroded fill. Downstream from the culverts, I observed that log yarding had occurred on the stream banks at six sites, resulting in gouged and disturbed banks, each ranging from ten to twenty feet long. I observed trees had been felled over and into the stream and some limby debris had been left in the stream, although no fish migration blockage had occurred. Kamin admitted he did all the above-referenced stream work without a Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) . He stated Likes did not want Kamin or Likes to apply for any permits, including HPA and Forest Practice Approval (FPA) , because Likes needed the income from logging immediately; if they applied for a FPA, it would be a conversion and the FPA would take 30 days. Kamin stated he would remove the culverts and fill and stabilize th6 culvert site and disturbed banks downstream. I told Kamin I would write a report of my findings, including needed mitigation work, and submit it to my supervisor and Fisheries Patrol Division for enforcement action. I also wrote a HPA dated August 30, 1991 (copy attached) to allow Kamin .to remove the culverts and stabilize the disturbed banks; including placing clean washed drain rock for fish spawning at the culvert site. Officer Duane Makoviney September 19 , 1991 Page 4 Streamside Shade Cover: Small streams require medium and high canopy shading to maintain cool water required by rearing salmon and trout. Without a reasonable amount of shade cover, stream temperatures can be stressful and even lethal for fish. Summary Kamin, operator who actually did the unauthorized stream work, and Likes, owner who, according to Kamin, directed Kamin to not obtain a HPA and to do the work, both violated the hydraulic law RCW 75. 20. 100. and implementing WAC' s: WAC 220-110-030 Procedures and WAC 220-110-110 Culvert Installation. Damage occurred to fish life and habitat as referenced above. The culverts need to be removed and all disturbed earth areas stabilized to prevent erosion and sedimentation of the stream. Kamin said Mr. Likes will not allow him to do corrective work on Mr. Likes ' property. JF: jkd cc: Johnson and Adolphsen, DNR - Officer Duane Makoviney September 19, 1991 Page 3 On September 13 , 1991, Kamin called me at my office and said he received a letter from Likes' attorney which stated in effect that Kamin was not allowed to do any more work on Likes ' property. Therefore Kamin was not allowed to do culvert removal and stabilization work. Damages to Fish Life and Habitat Sedimentation: The entry of sediments into the stream from the culvert installation, outlet scour, fill, and approach road erosion causes damage to fish life and habitat as follows: 1) Suspended sediment: Exposure to suspended sediment can produce a number of adverse effects on fish. The effects of chronic exposure to suspended sediments are well-documented. Blood physiology indicators suggest that stress occurs to salmonid fry held in sublethal concentrations of suspended sediment. Damage to gills often result by interfering with normal respiratory processes. Feeding ability is decreased. The synergistic actions of the above-mentioned stresses may manifest themselves by depressing growth rates of fish. 2) Bedload sediment: The smothering effect and instability of bedload sediment reduce bottom-dwelling invertebrate diversity and populations, available living space for fish and reduce early life survival of fish. Sediment fills gravel interstices, thereby reducing inter and intra-gravel water flow and dissolved oxygen to incubating salmonid eggs and embryos. Deposited sediment can physically prevent emergence of fry, reduce food resources by filling gravel interstices, and promote unstable substrate for aquatic invertebrates and periphyton communities. Culverts: Improperly placed culverts such as these will impede and block upstream migration of adult salmon and trout, resulting in a loss of seeding and production upstream.