TU and our partners are working together to reconnect blocked habitat on Olympic Peninsula watersheds
Long before heavy equipment began to arrive at project sites, the Cold Water Connection Campaign spent years working to identify the most impactful barriers to fish migration on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. In the process, they walked miles of county roads, measured hundreds of culverts, identified durable sources of cold water, and carefully evaluated the amount of blocked spawning and rearing habitat on key tributaries.
With this information in hand, they narrowed their focus to the barriers that would have the most benefit to struggling wild salmon and steelhead populations if they were removed. In the coming years, they’re working to reconnect 125 miles of habitat in OP watersheds.
Image: Luke Kelly
Now, with the support of federal, state and private funding, these barriers are being removed and replaced by new bridges and better culverts. Salmon and steelhead are regaining access to historic spawning and rearing habitat and local communities are getting good jobs and flood-resilient road infrastructure.
The Cold Water Connection Campaign is a partnership between Trout Unlimited, the Coast Salmon Partnership, the Wild Salmon Center, regional tribes, and federal and state agencies.
Our new short video from Liam Gallagher celebrates these partnerships, the years of work to prioritize key projects, and the effort underway to remove barriers and reconnect the OP’s watersheds.
Learn More
- Cold Water Connection Campaign Reopens Rivers for Olympic Peninsula Salmon and Steelhead
- Coldwater Connection Campaign Clearing Way for Fish
- Faces of Restoration: Mike Nelson, Washington coast contractor
- NOAA announces $16.6 million for TU salmon and steelhead fish passage projects
- NOAA: $20M for Trout Unlimited fish passage work