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Gravel Mining 



The most common form of gravel removal affecting fish habitat is bar Bcalping. 

 State and county regulations reduce many detrimental effects but a few risks 

 remain unaddressed due to lack of reliable data on inatream gravel transport 

 rates. Two main fishery issues remain unsettled. 1) Is the annual gravel 

 harvest limit low enough to ensure against downcutting the river bed and 

 depleting the gravel available to both fish and miners in coming years? 

 2) Will present operations destabilize the mined bars or cause channel shifts 

 that make the gravel less suitable for spawning and incubating salmonid eggs? 

 Grays Harbor County is working with the Quinault Indian Nation to monitor the 

 location and amount of gravel removal and find the answers to these questions. 



Enhanced Rearing Habitat 



Gravel Pit Rehabilitation 



Recent work by SamuelBon et a.1. (1989) has demonstrated that converting 

 abandoned gravel pits to salmon rearing ponds in the lower Chehalis and 

 Humptulips River Systems may help to increase production. Any additional fish 

 production at these projects should be evaluated to determine whether 

 additional sites should be developed. 



Side Channel Habitat Enhancement 



Existing aerial photos should be reviewed for the purpose of identifying side . 

 channels, Bloughs, and gravel pits blocked off from the river as of 1992. 

 Site visits should begin in 1993. Site-specific plans, construction, and 

 post-project evaluation should be developed. Fish production at these 

 projects will also be evaluated. 



Enhanced Spawning Habitat 



WDF created a chum salmon spawning channel on the lower Sataop River in 19S5 

 by excavating the floodplain, placing spawning gravel, and ensuring fish 

 access from the river (Randy Young, WDF, pers. conn.). No subsequent 

 evaluation has been conducted (Dave King, WDF, pers. coram.). 



Grays Harbor College students have rehabilitated the Weyerhaeuser-Briscoe 

 gravel pits on the Wynoochee River for chum salmon spawning and coho rearing 

 (Samuelson et al. 1989). They have also rehabilitated parts of Alder Creek 

 and Swano Lake in South Aberdeen. All these projects should be subjected to 

 continuing, organized evaluation so that decisions can be made about the 

 efficacy of additional similar projects. 



