Miller and Walker Creeks Basin Habitat and Stream
Restoration Plan

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is one of six agencies that have worked cooperatively to develop a basin plan to address stormwater management and past degradation to habitat in Miller and Walker Creeks. In a continued effort to develop specific habitat projects that follow the basin plan development, WSDOT retained Cherry Creek Environmental to produce an overall habitat restoration plan for the Miller and Walker Creeks Basin that dovetails smoothly with an appropriate level of surface water management designed to improve the hydrology of the basin.

Shane Cherry, Principal Geomorphologist, developed the approach for discerning the habitat and stormwater management needs of Miller and Walker Creeks. Drawing on extensive experience with watershed hydrology and habitat improvement strategies, Shane proposed a series of field studies and incremental technical memoranda to document the best mix of restoration projects for the basin. Scott White, Principal Environmental Planner, was the project manager and developed the schedule and implementation plan for this project. Extensive field work was conducted to assess the existing habitat conditions within the basin, and to identify up to 25 potential habitat and stream restoration projects that would further the goals of the original basin plan. Working closely with our project partners, it was shown that the stream channel network had stabilized under the present basin hydrology. Future improvements would be most effectively directed at improving physical habitat within the stream channels as a key component of the overall stormwater management strategy.

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Boulder steps form pools and support hydraulic diversity for better fish habitat. Residential property owners play a key role in helping quality fish habitat to coexist with their landscapes. Access to habitat can be improved by repairing culverts that limit fish migration.