Of the 36 sites identified for implementation across Puget Sound, three are being recommended for construction authorization under this existing Corps feasibility study and are presented as the recommended plan. Projects included in the recommended plan are:
The recommended plan will restore over 2,100 acres of degraded habitat and produce 716 average annual habitat units. Based on a March 2016 price level, the total estimated project first cost of the recommended plan is $452 million. The Federal share of the cost is $294 million and the non-Federal sponsors’ share is $158 million.
Benefits from the recommended plan would derive from removing nearly 28,860 linear feet of shoreline stressors (including tidal barriers, nearshore fill, and shoreline armoring). Restoration at the Duckabush River Estuary would address habitat constraints in Hood Canal, which is a partially isolated geographic section of Puget Sound. Restoration at the Nooksack River Delta would provide 25 percent of Puget Sound Action Agenda’s 2020 estuarine habitat recovery goal in a single project. Inclusion of North Fork Skagit River Delta would restore floodplain and tidal connectivity in the estuary of the Skagit River, the largest and most productive river in Puget Sound.