Pacific Lead Entity

The Willapa Basin covers more than 1000 square miles including the Willapa Bay estuary with over 270 miles of shoreline. In total, there are roughly 745 streams encompassing over 1470 linear stream miles in the Basin. The Willapa watershed is the most productive coastal ecosystem remaining in the continental United States.

Nearly two-thirds of the land in the watershed is commercial forest lands. Farms make up another seven percent including 1400 acres of bogs that produce virtually all of the state’s harvest of cranberries. Commercial fishing has always been an integral part of the local economy. Salmon generally account for more than 90 percent of the finfish caught in Willapa’s waters. Recently, Chinook and coho harvests have been above historic averages. However, native chum runs are critically low (Willapa Alliance 1996).

Historically streams of the Willapa region have been productive salmon bearing waters. This is particularly true of small lowland streams and wetlands. These streams provide important spawning and rearing habitat for native salmonids.

The overall goal of the Pacific County (WRIA 24) Strategic Salmon Recovery Plan (StrategicPlan) is to re-establish the connection between fish and their habitat through the identification of
human actions and their effects on salmon survival. This Pacific County (WRIA 24) Strategic Salmon Recovery Plan offers a scientific framework enabling the selection of projects that most
effectively restore and preserve the natural habitat features and landscape processes critical to sustained salmon survival. The Plan as a whole provides scientific support for priority projects
through recently completed watershed assessments and various habitat feasibility studies. The Plan provides a lower priority to potential projects that do not clearly facilitate wild salmon
restoration and protection and those that do not have a high probability of success in benefiting salmonid populations. The Plan brings to light projects that will significantly increase the value
of fish habitat by restoring the processes that have historically sustained ecosystem function.

With the use of the Strategic Plan and other related information, Pacific County will continue to promote projects addressing the causes, rather than the symptoms of watershed degradation. This
strategic plan was developed to promote efficient and effective use of public and private money for salmon restoration projects with a high likelihood of success. One goal of this strategy is to
assist and encourage the voluntary restoration and protection of natural landscape processes that formed and sustained the habitats to which salmon stocks are adapted. This strategy addressed
habitat issues and is only a part of the effort necessary to restore salmon populations at the river basin scale.

Pacific Sponsors

These are the people – governments, conservation districts, Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups, non-profits, and others – who get out there and get the work done. These are the real heroes of salmon recovery.

Pacific County

Coastal Resources Alliance 1725 Ocean Ave., Raymond, WA 98577-2813

360 942 3422

Pacific Conservation District http://www.willapabay.org/~paccon/

Pacific County http://www.co.pacific.wa.us/

Shorebank Enterprise Pacific http://www.sbpac.com/bins/site/templates/splash.asp

Sportsman National Land Trust http://www.snlt.org/

WA Department of Fish & Wildlife http://wdfw.wa.gov/recovery.htm

WA Department of Natural Resources http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Willapa Bay RFEG http://www.wbrfeg.org/