Salmon get their run back

32-foot-high dam went up in 1885, blocking chum

JOHN DODGE, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published November 10, 2001

"There's some projects that we're really proud of. That's certainly the case with the removal of Goldsborough Dam." -- Col. Ralph Graves, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

SHELTON -- The dam is gone. The creek is free-flowing. The chum salmon are starting to return.

The Goldsborough Creek Dam removal project looks like a success.

About 75 people gathered on the banks of the stream near Shelton on a sun-soaked Friday afternoon to celebrate the near-completion of the $4.8 million project.

"This is a great day -- a good day for fish," said Steve Keller, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife regional director.

Removal of the dam opens up 14 miles of upstream habitat for coho and chum salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout.

All but the most athletic of fish had been blocked since 1885 by the obsolete, 32-foot-high dam and earlier structures.

After years of prodding from the Squaxin Island tribe, Simpson Timber Co. agreed in 1996 to take out its dam, which used to store water for uses at the company mills on the Shelton waterfront.

"The project has widespread community support," said Jim Peters, the tribe's natural resources director who recalls first writing Simpson in 1982, urging the company to remove the dam.

Simpson, the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers paid for the dam removal.

"There's some projects that we're really proud of," said Col. Ralph Graves from the Corps' Seattle District office. "That's certainly the case with the removal of Goldsborough Dam."

Creek restoration

It wasn't just a matter of taking out the aging timber, steel and concrete structure.

Crews had to reshape a 1,700-foot stretch of the creek above and below the old dam. Some 37 concrete weirs were stretched across the creek to slow the water and create currents and pools for migrating fish. Dozens of tree root wads were placed in the stream to provide places for fish to rest and hide.

A few stray chinook salmon and native chum salmon have been spotted in the project area since the stream flows were pulled from a pipe and returned to the creek bed in early October.

In the weeks ahead, thousands of adult chum salmon should return, Keller said.

Some work remains, Simpson project manager Patti Case said.

For example, hundreds of trees and shrubs will be planted along the shore through December.

And fisheries crews will monitor upstream areas to see how many fish return.

In addition, Simpson will work with the public on a long-range public access plan for the area, which is available to foot traffic.

"In the years to come, it will be a hub of activity," Simpson Investment Co. President Ray Tennison predicted.

John Dodge covers the environment and energy for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5444.

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