Maxwelton Creek flows freely again

Yesterday, Whidbey Watershed Stewards completed a project that has been a long time in the making. Working with landowner Agnes Morgan, we removed an old culvert that was creating a barrier to fish and adding sediment that  could bury spawning gravels in Maxwelton Creek. With help from the Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force we created a design and applied for permits, and hired J&D Wallace, a local contractor, to do the excavation and culvert removal.

Thanks to all our supporters who make work with local landowners possible. Each small step brings us closer to a healthier place to live. Please look for messages from us when we start planting this site in the fall!

Enjoy the photos -

We salvaged plants from the roadbed, and then Garth Batchelor, the machine operator, began excavating the fill from on top of the culvert.

We first excavated one side of the roadbed to the culvert in the center, and Garth did a great job of re-shaping the slopes to match the surrounding land.

The excavation is complete on one side, and the fill has been removed to the level of the creek bed.

Here you can see the culvert has been exposed and the other side of the creek is being reshaped. We removed two dump truck loads of fill from the site, sediment that would have made its way downstream to smother spawning gravels if we hadn't removed it.

The big moment! Here you see the culvert being lifted out of the reshaped channel, and allowing the creek to reconnect with the natural streambed again.

It's almost out of the creek!

Once the rains return, and the water begins to flow strongly it will begin to resort the gravels in the streambed, and to reform the pools and riffles created by the natural hydrology of the creek.

Finally, the banks are protected from erosion with straw, and await planting.