SR 525/Box Springs, Maple Creek and Unnamed Tributary to Swamp Creek Fish Passage

At SR 525, three culverts will be removed near Lynnwood along Box Springs Creek, Maple Creek and Unnamed Tributary to Swamp Creek.

• Box Springs Creek flows through a three-foot diameter metal culvert and is not passable for fish because the culvert is too steep for fish to swim up. Removing this barrier will open more than one-half mile of fish habitat for sockeye and coho salmon and steelhead, sea-run cutthroat and resident trout.
• Maple Creek flows through a three-foot metal culvert and is not passable for fish because the depth of the water during certain times of the year is too low for fish to swim. Removing this barrier will open more than 1.5 miles of habitat for coho salmon and steelhead, sea-run cutthroat and resident trout.
• Unnamed tributary to Swamp Creek flows through a two-foot metal culvert and is not passable for fish because the culvert is too high, preventing fish from traveling upstream and causing juvenile fish to fall from the culvert onto rocks. The new fish passable structure will open more than one-quarter mile of habitat for sockeye and coho salmon and steelhead, sea-run cutthroat and resident trout.

When finished, the new structures will open more than 2.5 miles of fish habitat. This project is part of our fish passage program. Replacing the existing culverts and rebuilding the stream channels expands healthy fish habitat; an important step in restoring fish runs and increasing populations. This benefits commercial seafood operations and recreational fishers and provides more food for a declining orca population. Additionally, replacing these fish barriers helps us meet our obligation to remove barriers under the 2013 U.S. District Court injunction.