The Land Trust and its partners, the Wild Fish Conservancy, Bainbridge Island Watershed Council, City of Bainbridge Island, and Washington Department of Ecology, are pleased to release results of The Springbrook Creek Evaluation and Feasibility Project. This project assessed the health of Springbrook Creek and its 999-acre watershed.
Springbrook Creek is one of the Island’s most productive fish-bearing streams, supporting cutthroat trout, coho, sculpin, lamprey, and chum, and designated as critical habitat for steelhead. The project was funded by the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board and significant in-kind support from project partners, landowners, and area stakeholders.
As part of this assessment, five priority projects were identified, including the newly unveiled 23-acre Springbrook Creek Preserve, which we are now in the process of acquiring as the fourth property in our Stand for the Land campaign! To read more about this exciting development, click here.
Project Details
Wild Fish Conservancy mapped over 7 miles of stream (click here) in the watershed, and identified 4.7 miles as fish habitat. However, numerous culverts impede fish passage and this study, in addition to efforts by Washington Fish and Wildlife, found 1.8 miles of potential fish habitat that fish cannot access. Fish passage was just one of several types of opportunities identified to improve conditions.
Water quality concerns, lack of riparian vegetation, and alteration of wetlands and the stream’s historical channel led to the identification of other projects including restoring native vegetation to protect streambank stability and instream temperatures, outreach to landowners on caring for streams, wetlands, and associated vegetation, and acquiring property to protect intact watershed health and habitat.
With the assistance of landowners, Wild Fish Conservancy and City of Bainbridge Island engineers, conceptual designs were developed for 5 projects. The engagement of a multitude of landowners in the watershed was instrumental to the effort’s success.
With the project complete, the project partners are currently working to share the assessment’s findings with the community through this website, public presentations, work with partners to find funding to implement projects, and assist homeowners in restoring and protecting the valuable resources within Springbrook Creek.
For more information about this project contact:
Bainbridge Island Land Trust: Gina King (206) 842-1216
Wild Fish Conservancy: Jamie Glasgow, (206) – 310-9302
