July 9 Beacon Rock State Park Salmon Restoration Hike (LCFEG & Sierra Club)

Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group/Sierra Club Partnership Event

Woodard Creek (Beacon Rock) Hike & Restoration Project Info Session

Sunday, July 9, 2006 (10:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.)

The Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group (a local non-profit organization dedicated to community-based salmon and steelhead habitat restoration) will lead a hike discussing this summer's intense feasibility study for on-site salmon restoration at Woodard Creek (located at Beacon Rock State Park about 35 miles east of Vancouver along Hwy 14 East).

This habitat includes some of the last remaining chum spawning habit in the Columbia River Basin. Sites targeted by this project will include: reconnection and creation of off-channel rearing habitats; placement of in-stream rock and wood structures; construction of groundwater-fed spawning and rearing habitat; restoration of riparian and floodplain habitats; removal and/or modification of hydrological modifications; and channel realignment.

The hike is about 1 mile of easy terrain (with additional more difficult hikes available post-event) and begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Park’s Day Use Area. The event will also feature a presentation by Erik Plunkett, Beacon Rock State Park Manager, on the area's natural and tribal history. This outing is open to the public. Please bring water and a picnic lunch. For more information or to register for this event, please contact Sheila North (360 882 6671, info@lcfeg.org) or John McConnaughey (360 258 7154, loowit-conservation@cascade.sierraclub.org).

Additional information on Beacon Rock State Park (including camping, fishing/boating, hiking, and historical information): http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Beacon%20Rock.