A huge milestone in the restoration of Discovery Bay was achieved in October 2014 with the completion of the Maynard Nearshore Restoration Project. This project has been 10 years in the making, with a lot of meetings to attend and permits to write, but we are now able to sit back and observe the benefits of this project for salmon and wildlife.

Some stats from this project:

Photo credit: Rebecca Benjamin, NOSC

• Removed 1 defunct tidegate to improve access to a lagoon
• Transformed the 1 acre freshwater Cherry Pond into a one acre pocket estuary and salt marsh
• Maximized the habitat value of 2 small freshwater drainages at their interface with the bay

Photo credit: Rebecca Benjamin, NOSC

• Removed two 110' creosote railway trestles, one 70' trestle, and one 25' trestle
• 258 tons of contaminants removed from the nearshore

Photo credit: Rebecca Benjamin, NOSC

• 1,900 tons of rip-rap and armoring removed along 2,000 feet of shoreline
• Removed fill from 2 acres of beach and re-created a stable beach slope favorable to migrating juvenile salmon and forage fish spawning

Photo credit: Joel Rogers Photography

• Removed invasive upland vegetation. Planted 5,000 dunegrass plugs and 800 trees and shrubs in November 2014. A total of 8,320 plants will be planted on this site.

Please enjoy this video of the project during construction. It was filmed by Jim Fox, a NOSC volunteer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGuONQbLQ28&feature=youtu.be

The Second Phase of the Discovery Bay Restoration Project: Creosoted Trestle Removal

Railroad trestles that once carried rail traffic from Port Townsend to Port Angeles are removed in Discovery Bay as part of the Discovery Bay Estuary Restoration Project

NOSC has worked closely with the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to remove the railroad bridge trestles along the Maynard shoreline, and over Snow and Salmon Creeks. NOSC strongly values the history of this site and will be installing interpretive signage to commemorate the cultural heritage of this area.

The Discovery Bay railroad bridges were removed due to the presence of creosote on the pilings. Creosote has been used as a wood preservative for a century to treat  telephone poles, railroad ties, piers, docks and floats. There are thousands of derelict creosote pilings in Puget Sound that eventually fall apart, drift  around the Sound, and wash ashore, leaving tons of toxic wood debris on beaches throughout the Sound.

Removal of the Maynard Bridge

Creosote is composed of more than 300 chemicals that, together, are very effective at achieving their intended purpose: preventing decay and infestation. However, when these chemicals leach into the Sound they  can harm other organisms as well. A piling that contains creosote can leach throughout its entire lifetime.

Removal of the Salmon Creek Bridge

Chemicals in treated wood—such as those on beaches or old dock pilings—can be harmful and even toxic to marine species. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the chemicals of most concern. Recent studies have shown that PAHs are detrimental to salmon immune function and development. Other studies have shown that herring eggs exposed to creosote have a high mortality rate and English sole develop liver lesions. These and other affected species are important in the food chain for salmon, Orca whales, and birds.

The railroad trestles were removed with funding from the Washington Department of Natural Resources and work is being conducted by Seton Construction Co. of Port Townsend.