Lower River Restoration

The best remaining habitat is being protected.

As part of the ecosystem-based approach of the HCP, downstream habitat restoration activities are designed to provide more natural stream channel conditions downstream of Landsburg and in the Walsh Lake system. Protection and restoration of aquatic and riparian habitat in the lowlands of the Lake Washington basin below the Landsburg dam constitutes a critical element in regional salmonid recovery efforts.

Downstream habitat restoration is based on a three-tier strategy:

• Acquire properties under threat of development to protect habitats with functioning ecological processes that support salmon; conduct restoration on acquired properties where appropriate;
• Eradicate the highly invasive plant, knotweed, along the banks of the lower Cedar River and its tributaries; and
• Restore the Walsh Lake basin by restoring natural drainage patterns