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| Left to right - Rebecca Benjamin (NOSC), Bob Battalio (ESA PWA), Jim Johannessen (CGS) and Kevin Long (NOSC) |
The MRC is expanding its work in nearshore and drift cell restoration to include Maynard Beach at the head of Discovery Bay. Maynard Beach is adjacent to the MRC’s Olympia oyster study site. The MRC is partnering with North Olympic Salmon Coalition to remove armoring along the old railroad grade, restoring the entrance to a small lagoon by removing a creosote trestle bridge and creating a pocket estuary by replacing a culvert with a larger inlet and bridge. A Request for Proposals was released mid-February, soliciting firms qualified in nearshore restoration. The kick-off with the selected consultants ESA PWA was convened with a visit to the project site today.
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| Steve Winter (ESA PWA) measures a culvert |
The Maynard Nearshore Restoration Project is located on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife property, the property extends south from the project area along the shoreline to the estuary of Snow Creek. Salmon and Snow Creek enter the head of Discovery Bay within a half mile of one another and form the estuary complex that transitions to the bay at the project site. The project area has been significantly impacted by human activities over the past 130 years, including the installation of a railroad line, now abandoned, that alters tidal hydrology and sediment transport processes in this part of Discovery Bay.
ESA PWA will provide technical and engineering services to develop final engineering drawings, specifications, and preliminary opinion of cost for a restoration project in this location. The restoration design is currently at a 30% level of design. The scope of work includes pre-design studies intended to better define project goals, and development of a restoration design that meets the ecological objectives within existing project constraints. Coastal Geologic Services (CGS) is a sub consultant providing support on all tasks, but primarily during pre-design.
