The City of Maple Valley was awarded $93,600 from KCD’s Member Jurisdiction Grant Program to continue their five-year long project that monitors three fish passage improvements and stream restoration sites along Jenkins Creek. These fish passages were constructed to replace undersized subsurface culverts that had restricted fish movement and contributed to flooding in nearby neighborhoods. Maple Valley applied KCD funds to monitor the improved fish passages and evaluate their effectiveness for connecting salmon habitat and supporting stream function. They will use this data to assess the creek’s restoration as freshwater salmon habitat, as well as guide future restoration on the city’s salmon streams.
Starting in 2021, Maple Valley has worked with engineering consultants to monitor important factors for salmon habitat in Jenkins Creek like stream flow and streambed characteristics, progress of riparian plantings, and wildlife that use the fish passages. This monitoring effort has enabled the city to identify issues with the project and make adaptive improvements to the Jenkins Creek restoration that ensure continued passage for migrating fish.
KCD is proud to support Maple Valley’s Jenkins Creek monitoring project because it demonstrates the necessity of long-term stewardship that follows conservation-focused infrastructure adaptations. The data collected by this project will allow Maple Valley’s leadership to make adaptive management decisions that help support salmon recovery efforts.