LT Murray Wildlife Area Fish Passage Barrier and Diversion Screening Scoping and Correction Report

This report summarizes work accomplished to date on the LT Murray Wildlife Area (LTMWA) to correct fish passage barriers and non-compliant surface water diversions identified in the LT Murray Wildlife Area Fish Passage and Diversion Screening Prioritization Inventory,1 (Inventory Report). This report is a continuation of the effort to bring WDFW owned lands into compliance with RCW 77.55.030, which states that �"a dam or obstruction across or in a stream shall be fitted with a durable and efficient fishway…”, and RCW 77.57.010, which states that �"a diversion device used for conducting water from a lake, river, or stream for any purpose shall be equipped with a fish guard…”

Nearly all noncompliant structures identified on the wildlife area were fish passage barrier culverts at logging road crossings. As a result of the Technical Applications Division (TAPPS) effort to remove or replace these fish passage barriers, legacy logging roads were identified that could be abandoned and thereby meet the overlapping objectives of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan (RMAP) process. TAPPS personnel worked with WDFW Region 3 (District 8) Wildlife and Habitat programs, and DNR Southeast Region personnel to meet the objectives of TAPPS fish passage barrier correction efforts, while simultaneously meeting or exceeding the objectives of RMAP. As a result, significant RMAP expenditures on the LTMWA have been avoided through abandonment of roads that would have otherwise required significant upgrade effort and expense.

The Inventory Report discusses the potential for salmonid habitat restoration on the LTMWA as it relates to fish passage barriers, located both within and outside of the wildlife area boundary. The discussion presented herein however, shall be limited to the scoping and correction of fish passage barriers located within the wildlife area boundaries only.