Dam Breached at Whiteman Cove as Salmon Restoration Moves Ahead

Years of argument, planning, litigation and construction led to restoring an estuary for juvenile salmon.

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Two bright construction lights pierced the darkness in the wee hours Jan. 10 when a small group of leadership and staff from the Department of Natural Resources, YMCA Camp Colman, and the YMCA of Greater Seattle gathered to witness the first rising tide from Case Inlet flowed naturally into Whiteman Cove in nearly 63 years.

The earthen dam that remained underneath a newly constructed bridge on the North End of the Cove, built to maintain access to camp Colman, was removed during low tide Jan. 9.

The group gathered around a small campfire on land adjacent to the old tide gates that had controlled the water level inside the Cove since 1962. Cheers and laughter could be heard above the drone of generators lighting the scene as water began to flow, slowly at first, then gradually widening into a small river rushing into the cove.

The road to breaching the berm was both long and thorny. (See “Whiteman Cove Restoration to Begin in 2024,” November 2023.)

In 2021, the YMCA of Greater Seattle, which owns and operates Camp Colman, launched a campaign advocating for “salmon-friendly” tide gates to keep the cove full of water. But the effort to “preserve recreational water education opportunities for campers” eventually gave way to the legal obligation annunciated by the United States Supreme Court to remove all barriers to fish passage in Washington. The Cove will now revert to its natural state as a 29-acre estuary that fills and drains with the tide.

The Legislature allocated $9,000,000 in its 2024-2025 budget for Whiteman Cove work, and $2,900,000 for Camp Colman reconfigurations.

Whiteman Cove was dammed in 1962 by the State of Washington to support its system of salmon hatcheries around Puget Sound a few years later, the Department of Fish and Wildlife abandoned the project as unsuccessful for salmon rearing. Camp Colman moved to the site and used the placid lagoon for swimming and boating beginning in 1966.

So did the Whiteman Cove homeowners on the upper end of the Cove some of whom objected to the project's impact on home values or faulted its design, but declined to comment on the record for this report.

Whiteman Cove is a pocket estuary, not a spawning area. The shallow shorelines with native plant life provide a safe area for young salmon and other species with limited swimming strength in deeper water and higher exposure to predators.

As the cove returns to an estuary with regular tidal exchanges the seasonal high coliform bacteria levels that exceeded state water quality conditions for recreational contact should also be eliminated.

Jason Lane, senior executive for camping and outdoor leadership for YMCA of Greater Seattle, said he was at the breach to support camp Colman for what he called an exciting night for the camp welcoming salmon back.

“This has always been one of our most important activity centers for camp where we've done swimming and paddling,” he said. “We’re starting to transition to this becoming one of our most important key learning centers for environmental education. We're bringing in salmon roe … for our students who are coming with their schools this spring for outdoor environmental education and for our summer camp participants who will really study their environment, connect with nature, and be a part of it.”

In an e-mail to KP News, project manager Hannah Blackstock said, “We expect to wrap up the majority of work and all in-water work by Feb. 15, though some paving and road prep work will continue into the spring when there is more favorable weather for paving. The project will be fully completed by the end of June at the latest.”

Squaxin Tribal Chairman Kris Peters was unable to attend the informal gathering Jan. 10 but he and other dignitaries will be present for an official state ceremony this summer.

 


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