Five Year Review
It’s been five years since dikes built many years ago to create pastureland at the end of Hood Canal near Belfair were removed, along with many truck loads of fill dirt. The Pacific Northwest Salmon Center, working with government grants and many volunteers, have led this critical effort to improve and restore habitat for Northwest salmon. The results are impressive, as these drone photos taken in mid-October show.
My image was featured at the top of The Pacific Northwest Salmon Center website! It’s the second one in the slider :)
At the Union River, next to the restored salt marsh, summer chum counts were the highest ever.
Spectacular new tide channels (seen at low tide) have been carved into the pasture land.
Walking and viewing bridges (upper foreground
And in foreground (lower foreground) give visitors a close up view of the Center in every season
An overview of the former farm, with some fields still in use. This was the last shot I could take on a windy October day just before the drones automated controller told me to “and immediately” winds were too high.
Another shot of the pasture land turning to saltmarsh and a valuable wildlife feeding area.
Tide channels create some beautiful formations in the restored land.
A second restoration site at Klingle on the Canal’s Northshore Road. This project also included hauling away tons of fill dirt that had been used to create beach front property.
A new dike (right) was built to contain Hood Canal water and protect Northshore Road. At high tide, especially in the winter, the road still sees occasional flooding.
Read more about the project at The Pacific Northwest Salmon Center.
Well done, Boyd!! What a legacy!
Thanks Leslie
It was a fun project and I really was impressed at the careful work so many people did to make this happen.
Boyd
So fun to capture this incredible project. Kudos to all the volunteers and agencies that do the work of creating this project and measuring the results.
Great shots, Boyd. Quite a project and kudos to all involved in helping accomplish these results. I especially liked the photo labeled “pasture land turning to salt marsh” and the photo labeled “tide channels create beautiful formations”. With the inlet in the background in both shots, the distant shore and the horizon, they give a really good feel of the size and scope of this project.
Nice photos
Amazing to see the mother nature (and Hood Canal) take over again from above. Great photos!
The Salmon Center is an interesting place to visit and walk in Belfair, and these drone shots really show the beauty and scope of the reclamation project from above. Good job, Boyd!
This is fantastic, Boyd. I wouldn’t have know about this if you hadn’t chronicled it!