A culvert survey was completed for all of WRIA 23 located in Lewis County, and a portion of WRIA 23 located in Thurston and Grays Harbor Counties, Washington. The total area surveyed was 569,600 acres. Culverts, if improperly installed or deteriorated over time, can prevent or limit the ability of adult and juvenile salmonids to access all habitats. Coho salmon, searun cutthroat, and steelhead travel up into the smaller streams and are therefore more likely to be impacted by blocking culverts. It is important that fish have access to all habitats to spawn, elude predators, find food, and escape high flows. However, a complete database that listed all the culverts in the system did not exist. Therefore, the Lewis County Conservation District undertook the task of finding and evaluating culverts. The data that was acquired was combined with existing information to make a complete map and database. This project was funded by grants from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Culvert Survey
