Community assisted documentation of pre-restoration physical and biological characteristics of the Harper Estuary Final Report October, 2020 Prepared for: Kitsap County Prepared by: Washington Sea Grant Community assisted documentation of pre-restoration physical and biological characteristics of the Harper Estuary Project Personnel: PI – Kate Litle, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) CoPI, Shoreline Monitoring – Jason Toft, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences CoPI, Crab Team – Emily Grason, WSG Contract Manager – Christina Kereki, Kitsap County Project Coordinator – Jeff Adams, WSG Wetland Ecosystem Team ResearCh Scientist – Juhi LaFuente, UW SAFS Crab Team Coordinator – Amy Linhart, WSG Crab Team Program Assistant – Kelly Martin, WSG Community volunteers – Alex Brown, Kathie Gustin, Cindy Hardi, Roger Hardi, Jim Heytvelt, Marlene Keltner, JaCKie McClure, Chris Moore, Eric Schnepp, Joyce Schnepp, Dale Walker and Ed Weston. Funding Statement: Funding for this estuary monitoring project and report was provided by the Washington Department of Ecology [Grant Agreement No. OTGP-2018-KiCoCD- 00007] Suggested Citation: Litle, K, JD Toft, EW Grason, C Kereki, JW Adams, A Linhart, JR LaFuente, K Martin. 2020. Community assisted documentation of pre-restoration physical and biological characteristics of the Harper Estuary Final Report. Washington Sea Grant. 38 pages. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 INTRODUCTION 5 METHODS 5 SHORELINE MONITORING 5 BeaCh WraCK 5 Logs 6 InseCts 6 Sediment Size 6 VertiCal Profiles 6 CRAB TEAM MONITORING 8 Trapping ProtoCol 10 Molt Survey ProtoCol 11 RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION 12 SHORELINE MONITORING 12 BeaCh WraCK 12 Logs 14 InseCts 14 Sediment Size 15 VertiCal Profiles 16 CRAB TEAM 19 Trapping 19 Molt Survey 28 NEXT STEPS 30 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 30 PHOTOS 31 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Washington Sea Grant (WSG) collaborated with the University of Washington’s (UW) Wetland Ecosystem Team (WET) to conduct baseline shoreline and estuary monitoring at the Harper Estuary complex in 2019 and 2020, engaging community members in monitoring activities and using approaches outlined in the Shoreline Monitoring Toolbox (https://sites.google.com/a/uw.edu/toolbox/home) and in the WSG Crab Team volunteer handbook (https://wsg.washington.edu/crabteam/getinvolved/toolbox/). The approach and baseline data colleCted over the course of the project are presented in this document and provide a foundation for understanding what, if any, changes to the measured biological and physical features measured take place once more free tidal exchange has been reestablished between Harper’s upper estuary and outer bay. 4 INTRODUCTION Washington Sea Grant (WSG) collaborated with the University of Washington’s (UW) Wetland Ecosystem Team (WET) to conduct baseline shoreline and estuary monitoring at the Harper Estuary in 2019 and 2020. Using approaches outlined in the Shoreline Monitoring Toolbox (https://sites.google.com/a/uw.edu/toolbox/home) and in the WSG Crab Team volunteer handbook (https://wsg.washington.edu/crabteam/getinvolved/toolbox/) and engaging volunteers from within the Harper community and Kitsap County, project personnel collected physical and biological data relevant to changes that are likely to result from the proposed Olympiad Drive bridge construction and Harper Estuary restoration. The monitoring work was a natural extension of WSG’s experience working with volunteers to monitor Kitsap shorelines and of WET’s development of the Shoreline Monitoring Toolbox and shoreline monitoring throughout the Puget Sound region. The proposed bridge on Olympiad Drive will remove an undersized, 36-inch culvert and have a 12 -foot span, reestablishing the tidal influence in the upper estuary. In particular, increased accessibility to the upper estuary for mobile fauna, wrack material and h0abitat structure like logs is expeCted to reestablish habitat structure, movement of fish, crab and other mobile species and sources of organic material and nutrients that may be limited by the Current conditions. Engaging community members in this projeCt greatly increased the data collection capacity while more deeply connecting to the Harper Estuary eCosystem and the results of restoration efforts. This report represents the culmination of shoreline and Crab Team monitoring efforts in the Harper Estuary complex in 2019 and 2020. METHODS SHORELINE MONITORING With established protocols from the Shoreline Monitoring Toolbox (https://sites.google.com/a/uw.edu/toolbox/home) that are used by volunteer and professional monitors throughout Puget Sound, UW Wetland Ecosystem Team Staff characterized baseline conditions at 50m transects (parallel to the shoreline) within Harper Estuary. Three sites were surveyed (1) the outer beach, (2) the inner bay, and (3) the estuary upstream of the road (Figure 1). Surveys were conducted once at each transect during two years, on May 7, 2019 and June 24, 2020. Beach Wrack We surveyed wrack percent cover of algae, eelgrass, terrestrial, and human derived debris deposited on the beach on an ebbing tide using a 0.1 m2 quadrat at ten 5 random points along a 50 m transect parallel to the beach. Wrack depth and overall width of the wracK-line were measured at each quadrat. Logs We counted the number of logs (driftwood) and the landward depth of the accumulated logs (log-line) perpendiCular to the shoreline at five random points along a 50m transect. Insects We surveyed for inseCts, a contributing food sourCe for out-migrating juvenile salmonids, using fallout traps (40 x 25 cm plastic bins with a small amount of soapy water). These were deployed for 24 hours to sample terrestrial insects and arthropods in vegetated supratidal habitats at five random points along a 50m transect. Samples were preserved in 70% isopropanol and returned to the laboratory and sorted, identified, and enumerated under dissecting microscopes. Sediment Size We surveyed surface sediment grain size using visual estimation, and subsurface (5 cm) when possible, at five random points along the same 50m transect where beach wrack was surveyed. A visual estimate was made of the sediment percent composition in five size classes: cobble (>6 cm), pebble (4 mm-6 cm), granule (2-4 mm), sand (“gritty” up to 2 mm), and silt/clay (smooth between your fingers), as well as shell hash. Vertical Profiles We used a transit and stadia rod to measure the vertical change along three profile lines (Figure 1) chosen to represent locations that are both expected to remain relatively unchanged and that are expected to be reshaped as a result of the restoration efforts. This approach is well suited for volunteer assistance from community members and can be readily repeated in the future with minimal time commitment from project staff. 6 Figure 1. Map of vertiCal profile lines (Profile 1-3) and habitat transeCt locations (BeaCh, Bay, Estuary). 7 CRAB TEAM MONITORING WSG's Crab Team is an established, region-wide, volunteer monitoring program for mobile fauna in pocket estuaries, lagoons and tide flats that targets crustaceans with molt surveys and both crustaceans and fish with baited trapping. Volunteers receive training in March, then survey established sites from April through September. Monitoring within the Harper Estuary complex during the course of this researCh included 3 additional sites to expand the spatial assessment of the baseline data collection. Training: Crab Team volunteers received training in MarCh 2019 during a one-day new volunteer training and/or a half-day returning volunteer training. While COVID- 19 restrictions prevented training of new volunteers in 2020, the program’s critical service status allowed existing volunteers to monitor as planned while using precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Crab Team Monitoring: Standard Crab Team surveys were conducted at the previously established site in the upper estuary during April through September of 2019 and 2020. Protocols are briefly summarized below. A detailed protoCol handbook, data sheets and additional resources are available as part of the online Crab Team volunteer toolbox. https://wsg.washington.edu/crabteam/getinvolved/toolbox/ Enhanced Crab Team Trapping: To gather information at a spatial scale relevant to restoration efforts, Crab Team trapping was conducted at three additional loCations in May and August of 2019 and 2020 with an additional collection in April of 2019. The estuary complex was divided into four zones (Figure 2) for spatial and temporal assessment of mobile epifauna, via trapping and molt searches during the 2019 and 2020 field seasons. The delineation of these zones was based on geographic features expected to influence the ecological community, primarily those related to freshwater and saltwater inundation regimes. • Zone 1: Most open and marine influenced. Primarily tidal flat with shallow channel draining from restored salt marsh (Zone 2) as well as freshwater stream inputs. This is the only zone with no substantial barriers to marine tidal flow or wind fetch. • Zone 2: Upland salt marsh, with recently restored tidal influence through breached berm. High sill elevation means this marsh is shallow and infrequently inundated. Limited freshwater input. Substantial vegetation with small shallow pools and channels and lots of vegetation cover primarily composed of Salicornia (pickleweed). • Zone 3: Tidal mudflat upstream of culvert, with narrow, shallow stream channel. Mudflat largely devoid of vegetation, with pedestaling banks and saltmarsh vegetation. Channel combines