Dosewallips River Lazy C Phase I 2
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2019 Jefferson County C onservation Futures Program Property Acquisition and/or Operations and Maintenance Project Application Please complete the following application in its entirety. Be sure to answer “N/A” for questions that don’t apply to the project. Incomplete applications will not be accepted for consideration. Unless directed otherwise, use as much space as needed to answer each question. Contact program staff at 379-4498 or [email protected] with questions. Background and Eligibility Information 1. Project Title: Dosewallips River Lazy C Phase I 2. Conservation Futures Acquisition Request: $7,649 Conservation Futures O&M Request: $0 3. Total Conservation Futures Request: $7,649 4. Please indicate the type of interest contemplated in the acquisition process. X Warranty Deed X Easement __ Other (Please describe below.) In whose name will the property title be held after acquisition? Jefferson County 5. Applicant Information Name of Applicant or Organization: Jefferson County Contact: Tami Pokorny Title: Natural Resources Program Coordinator Address: JCEPH 615 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 Phone: (360) 379-4498 Fax: (360) 379 - 4487 Email: [email protected] 6. Sponsor Information: (if different than applicant) _________________________________________________ Organization Name:___________________________________________________________________________ Contact: ____________________________________________________________________________________ Title: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________ Phone: (_____) _____-________, ext. ____ _______________________ Fax: (_____) _____-________, ext. ____ Email: _____________________________________________________________________________________ This application was approved by the sponsor’s legally responsible body (e.g., board, council, etc.) on ___________N/A_____________ , 20___. 7. Site Location Street Address or Description of Location: Lower Lazy C I development along Appaloosa Rd. in Brinnon, WA 1 2019 CF Program Application FINAL http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/560/Conservation-Futures-Program Driving Directions from Port Townsend: Drive south on Hwy 19. Right on Center Rd. Left on Hwy 101. Continue until just before the Brinnon Community Center. Turn right on Dosewallips Road, continue just over 1.5 miles. Turn left onto Appaloosa Drive. Park along the road when the Dosewallips River becomes visible to the right. Section: 34 Township: 26 Range: 2W Assessor’s Parcel Number(s): 966900044 (Doyle) and 966900047 (Pino) Please differentiate current and proposed ownership of each APN and indicate if the parcel is to be acquired with CF funds or used as match. 966900044 Current ownership is private; proposed is fee-simple acquisition held by Jefferson County using CF funds. 966900047 Current ownership is private; proposed is conservation easement or fee-simple acquisition held by Jefferson County using CF funds. Please list the assessed values for each property or APN, as applicable. 966900044: $5,000, 0.34 acres 966900047: $6,300, 0.52 acres 8. Existing Conditions New Site: Yes No, the acquisitions are part of a larger effort to restore the Powerlines Reach to benefit Hood Canal Summer Chum salmon Number of Parcels: 2 Addition to Existing Site: Yes No Acres to Be Acquired: 0.86 Total Project Acreage (if different): Approx. 80 (County only) Current Zoning: RR-5 Existing Structures/Facilities: Vacant land and shed(s); Waterline Any current covenants, easements or restrictions on land use: Lazy C HOA; utility easement on 966900047 Current Use: Recreational Waterfront (name of body of water):Dosewallips River Shoreline (linear feet): 75’ on mainstem (-044); 86’ on seasonal tributary (-047) Owner Tidelands/Shorelands: State of Washington (navigable waterbody) 9. Current Property Owner(s) X are __is not a willing seller. Project Description 10. In 1,000 words or less, provide a summary description of the project, the match, overarching goal, and three top objectives. Include information about the physical characteristics of the site that is proposed for acquisition with Conservation Futures Program funds including: vegetation, topography, surrounding land use, and 2 2019 CF Program Application FINAL http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/560/Conservation-Futures-Program relationship to parks, trails, and open space. Describe the use planned for the site, any development plans after acquisition (including passive development), characteristics of the site which demonstrate that it is well-suited to the proposed use, and plans for any structures currently on the site. If applicable, describe how the site relates to the larger project, and whether the project has a plan, schedule and funding dedicated to its completion. Please also list any important milestones for the project or critical dates, e.g. grant deadlines. List the dates and explain their importance. The goal of the Dosewallips River Lazy C Phase I project is to support the recovery of ESA threatened Hood Canal Summer Chum salmon and natural floodplain functions in the lower three miles of the Dosewallips River by initially acquiring two properties in the lower Lazy C I community, 1.5 miles upstream from Brinnon and Hood Canal. The parcels are located near the upper extent of the Powerlines Reach, a mostly unconstrained 1.3- mile section of the river and a very important spawning area for summer chum. This project will add to the large complex of protected open space lands in the lower river acquired by Jefferson County and Washington State Parks to benefit salmon and provide for compatible recreational uses. Summer chum rely upon complex habitat for their genetic diversity and resilience to climate change. Acquisition of the lots will hopefully lead to additional acquisitions which, together, will provide the open space necessary to the design of installations to stabilize spawning gravels and to retain the habitat features associated with stable, large wood. Engineered designs will “facilitate normative channel patterns and stable side channels, backwaters, or stable vegetated islands” (Lestelle 2015) and be refined and implemented in consultation with an advisory group convened by the County to include representation from the Lazy C and Brinnon communities. Secondarily, the acquisitions and subsequent project phases may reduce the likelihood that shoreline armoring, similar to the rock work just upstream, will be necessary in order to protect Appaloosa Drive. The primary project objectives are: Acquire the two parcels (0.86 acres) fee simple or, if necessary, protect them with a conservation easement to allow for restoration of salmon habitat and to prevent impacts to water quality. Replant and under plant as needed to restore and enhance a diverse native conifer forest on each parcel. Continue outreach to the Lazy C community leading to additional nearby acquisitions and the opportunity to develop one or more designs for restoration actions. Jefferson County began acquiring and protecting high functioning riparian habitat in the lower Dosewallips River beginning in 2005 and eventually also purchased and restored three parcels in the Lazy C. These, and the two subject parcels, were platted in 1966 on property that was originally developed as the Lazy C Ranch dude ranch. Parcel -044 was originally cleared as a home site which later succumbed to the river along with the road which formerly connected the Lazy C I and II developments. It’s used seasonally as an RV campsite. Parcel -047 is forested with mature trees and doesn’t appear to have been developed in the past with the exception of a buried community water supply line from the PUD #1 tanks along Dosewallips Rd. Both properties will be managed for native vegetation consistent with soil conditions. Structures on the parcels are limited to a shed and the water line. The Dosewallips River flows west to east in a meandering pattern, linking cool melt water from the Anderson Glacier and other high elevation areas with Hood Canal at its eastern most extent. The river’s channel migration zone is relatively flat, however the slopes steepen greatly as the distance from the river increases, north to Green Hill and south to the Mount Jupiter ridgeline. The surrounding land use is mixed with residential development to the northwest. To the east and south of the subject parcels are relatively inaccessible county-owned open space 3 2019 CF Program Application FINAL http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/560/Conservation-Futures-Program lands including excellent off channel habitat for salmonids and other fish and wildlife. Neighboring areas are enjoyed by recreationists travelling upstream of Dosewallips State Park. Washington State Parks envisions a trail corridor to eventually link Hood Canal with Olympic National Forest. Funding for acquisitions, as part of the larger restoration effort, have been approved by the RCO SFRB and is awaiting a final award determination by the state legislature. The Powerlines Reach is located between the upstream extent of the Brinnon Flats where a volcanic outcrop naturally constricts the channel, and the Lazy C “I” residential development where there is another bedrock exposure. The reach appears to be a zone of deposition, and sediment accumulations and stranded wood are common. Although the Powerlines Reach is largely protected open space, unconstrained and relatively intact compared to more developed