SEATTLE - Workers didn't have much time to reflect on the Duwamish River site they've spent the last five months restoring, they have to be done and out of there tomorrow.
It's called the North Wind Weir Restoration Project and its goal is to give federally protected salmon a safe resting place on their way from the fresh to salt water. Workers have dug out a two-and-half-acre chunk of Duwamish riverbank to create a large, shallow eddy. Then they positioned and anchored large tree trunks to give it a natural fish rest area.
"They can hide underneath the logs and that way they are protected from predation by herons, and other birds and predators," explained King County project coordinator Dennis Clark.
The transition from fresh to salt water is a critical time for salmon. Biologists say it's best if they can slowly get used to the new water chemistry. The mixing zones at the mouths of rivers are called estuaries and many of the region's big rivers have lost theirs over the years to waterfront agriculture and development.
The North Wind Project also puts a badly needed bend in the Duwamish which was straightened out and channelized over the years to make it friendlier to barge traffic.
Workers have spent months adjusting their schedules to the Duwamish tide tables often working late at night and in the predawn hours. Some say they've grown attached to the little project. It's intended to benefit salmon but other species will benefit too.
On their last full day on the job, workers erected a nest pole which will give osprey the perfect fishing spot for raise a family.
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