Salmon restoration focus of meetings

The Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board will host a pair of meetings next week outlining a plan to restore salmon habitat in the lower East Fork of the Lewis River. Here, a drift boat plies the river near Daybreak Park. (Files/The Columbian)

As one of the few major undammed tributaries in Southwest Washington, the East Fork of the Lewis River holds tantalizing potential as a stronghold for wild salmon.

At a pair of meetings in March, the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board will outline its vision for a mile-by-mile assessment of the types of habitat that would be ideal for each reach of the lower river. The plan covers 12 miles of river, from Lewisville Park to its confluence with the North Fork near Paradise Point State Park.

"We've focused on saying, these are the key sites and these are the conditions we'd like to create," said Jeff Breckel, executive director of the five-county organization.

The question of the specific methods to achieve those goals will be the topic of a competitive process by which project sponsors apply for state and federal money passed through the fish recovery board. In the wake of the collapse this winter of a $603,000 river-restoration project a mile downstream of Daybreak Bridge, Breckel said the board will consider the durability of new project proposals as it considers awarding money.

"It's hard to get resources to do fish recovery," he said. "I think we're all very conscientious about using those resources as efficiently and effectively as we can."

A work group of 26 members devised the plan. The group includes biologists, landowners, representatives of fish-recovery organizations and other interested parties.

The first meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in the Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E. Main Street. The second will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in the commons area at La Center High School, 725 Highland Road.