Willapa Bay Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group focuses on restoration of salmon habitat in Washington State's Pacific County, encompassing all of the streams that drain into Willapa Bay.
Our organization is run entirely by volunteers out of their homes and businesses, reflecting our desire to maximize the use of funds for salmon recovery projects, rather than for administrative overhead.
Project Assessment
Using our strategic plan as our focus, our board of directors decides
which projects to undertake for coming year. We always fund the
preliminary investigations ourselves.
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We hire a consultant to make an assessment and design
of the site.
We pay for the assessment and preliminary engineering design using our own funds.
During this phase, we make sure that the project will benefit salmon, and determine how much it will cost and that it will be cost-effective.
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We obtain all the permits before the funds arrive.
When we apply for project funds, we already have the design in hand. All the surveys, assessments, soil tests, etc. are already completed before we apply for construction funds.
- We are ready to go to work the minute the funds are in hand.
Implementation and Construction
Once the project is funded:
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Volunteers help us plant salmon eggs and salmon
carcasses in the stream to reestablish a run.
This part of the project occurs about 3 years in advance of construction. The salmon carcasses provide much needed nutrients for the young salmon once they hatch.
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We hire and manage the appropriate consultants, and the
construction contractors.
We have a list of 60 pre-approved consultants from a broad range of professions and 16 construction contractors that we draw upon depending upon the project. The consultants do the final design before construction begins.
Post-Construction
Once construction is complete:
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We continue with salmon restoration and nutrient
enhancement.
These salmon carcasses provide much needed nutrients for this next round of salmon fry.
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We hire an independent consultant to monitor the project
for 3 years.
We have a monitoring protocol that each independent contractor follows. This step is important because we want to know if the project is successful.
- We send the monitoring report unedited each year to our funding sources.