Watershed Management Plan - Mason County

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Appendix C Key Issues and Options – Water Quality variety of factors – especially decreased tree cover and shade and low summer flows – can contribute to high stream temperatures. Option 62. Revegetate riparian areas Riparian areas are those areas alongside streams, rivers, and nearshore marine waters. Riparian vegetation can help reduce stream temperatures through a variety of mechanisms, including the following: • Providing shade • Altering microclimates • Influencing channel shape • Altering stream flow • Changing wind speed, humidity, and soil and air temperature • Improving infiltration of precipitation • Affecting thermal radiation (Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team, 2000). In areas where riparian vegetation has been degraded or eliminated, replanting it could help reduce high stream temperatures. The Planning Unit could work with existing volunteer organizations, private landowners, and government agencies to revegetate these areas. Option 63. Modify County GMA Comprehensive Plans to protect water quality RCW 36.70A, the Growth Management Act, requires counties and cities of a certain size or population growth rate to develop comprehensive plans to manage growth. The act also sets out a schedule for updating these comprehensive plans. Under this schedule, Jefferson County updated its plan in 2004, and must update it every seven years thereafter. Mason County must update its plan by December 1, 2005, and every seven years thereafter (RCW 36.70A.130). The Growth Management Act specifies that Comprehensive Plans must include a variety of elements, including designation of natural areas and critical areas such as wetlands, aquifer recharge areas, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, frequently flooded areas, and geological hazard areas. The Act also directs counties to use best available science to draft policies to protect the functions and values of these critical areas (RCW 36.70A.172). As part of its Comprehensive Plan update, Mason County could review existing language and draft new language if necessary to ensure that riparian areas and buffer areas are large enough to protect water quality, and to control non-point pollution. Jefferson County recently updated its plan, and it does include means to protect water quality, such as zoning page 128 Final Plan for County Adoption – May 11, 2006
Key Issues and Options – Water Quality Appendix C protections and critical areas policies. Nevertheless, the Planning Unit could work with Jefferson County to evaluate the water quality protection language in its plan and recommend any desired changes for the next update cycle. Option 64. Support implementation of existing habitat plans A wide variety of stakeholders from around Puget Sound are working together to craft plans to protect salmon habitat. Two of the primary efforts are Shared Strategy, which is developing a plan for all listed salmonid species in Puget Sound, and the Hood Canal Coordinating Council’s Summer Chum plan. Shared Strategy is a cooperative effort in which each Puget Sound watershed develops and agree upon actions to help recover salmon habitat within its own boundaries. These watershed plans are then “rolled up” into the Shared Strategy plan, a complete draft of which was released on June 30, 2005. This plan addresses habitat concerns for chinook, summer chum, and bull trout, but focuses primarily on Chinook (Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, 2005b). Similarly, the Hood Canal Coordinating Council has been leading an effort to develop a recovery plan for Hood Canal summer chum. Like the Shared Strategy plan, the summer chum plan was due on June 30, 2005 (Hood Canal Coordinating Council, 2005). Once these plans are published and adopted, the Planning Unit could support implementation of the actions recommended in each plan. Issue: Low Dissolved Oxygen Low levels of dissolved-oxygen greatly affect Hood Canal’s water quality and fish habitat. Low dissolved oxygen is responsible for the widespread “fish kills” in Hood Canal that have affected thousands of juvenile perch and numerous fish, octopi, and sea cucumbers. Option 65. Support on-going actions in the region on low dissolved oxygen Low dissolved oxygen is a major water quality concern in WRIA 16, particularly in Hood Canal. Currently, this issue is receiving considerable attention from a variety of parties, including the governor’s office, the twenty-eight parties participating in the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program (Puget Sound Action Team, 2005b), and the Hood Canal Coordinating Council. For example, the governor proposed $5 million over the 2005-2007 biennium to help build stormwater and sewer projects in Hoodsport and Belfair, fund grants to clean up salmon carcasses, create low-interest loans to help property owners repair failing septic systems, and help find failing septic systems (Office of the Governor, 2005). Final Plan for County Adoption – May 11, 2006 page 129
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WRIA 16 Summary of Watershed Manage
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WRIA 16 Summary of Watershed Manage
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Chapter Introduction and Background
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Chapter WRIA 16 - State of the Wate
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Chapter Recommendations: Water Quan
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Chapter Other Recommendations 6 6.1
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Watershed Management Plan - Mason County

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