General Information:
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe (Tribe) secured funding through Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office - Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) grant to develop a preliminary design to restore natural processes and sediment transport through 2,500 feet of Hardy Creek Reach 5, located on US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Pierce National Wildlife Refuge. During 2022, Tribe secured National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Grant Program (Culvert Program) for the Hardy Creek Fish Passage Project.
The development of the SRFB Hardy Creek Reach 5 preliminary design compliments the future removal of the BNSF fish passage barrier culvert crossing (WDFW Site ID#28.0295 0.10) and proposes the removal of a floodplain road prism and USFWS bridge over Hardy Creek. The Tribe, in collaboration with USFWS, requests assistance from a restoration design firm to conduct Stream Simulation and hydraulic/hydrologic modeling to create a design to restore sediment transport through the proposed BNSF bridge crossing and incorporates engineered log structures downstream to create a braided channel, reconnect the floodplain and sort mobile alluvium.
These efforts will restore natural processes to benefit in-basin and out-of-basin populations of fall and spring chinook, coho, chum salmon and steelhead. These efforts are a continuation of the Tribe’s broader aquatic restoration efforts in Columbia River Tributaries to improve salmonid habitat and aquatic functions downstream of Bonneville Dam.
Critical Dates:
- Mandatory Site Tour: June 13, 2024 – 10:00am PST
- Request for Clarification/Question Submittals by: June 20, 2024 – 6:00pm PST
- Response to Questions: June 25, 2024 – 6:00pm PST
- Proposal Submission Deadline: July 2, 2024 – 2:00 pm PST
- Tentative Award Selection: July 11, 2024
- Anticipated Project Timeline: July 15, 2024 – August 30, 2025