The Tulalip Tribes are prepared this year to pull metal piping known as culverts from beneath roadways to improve the flow of streams—and the ability of salmon to reach habitat in those waterways—at several locations across their traditional homelands.
Efforts to replace undersized, poorly placed or otherwise ineffective culverts with larger pass-through structures like bridges have been underway for years in Tulalip’s homelands north of Seattle as well as throughout Washington state. Fisheries managers are agreed that the momentum must continue in order to improve the odds that Northwest salmon populations will recover and thrive in the future. The fish need access to habitat where adults can spawn and young can grow—and they can all contribute to the recovery of their species across generations.
Fixing fish blockages beneath state-managed roadways is also legally mandated under a federal court injunction that acknowledged that tribes’ treaty right to harvest salmon is dependent on sustainable populations of fish supported by adequate habitat.
But tribes aren’t stopping there.
The Tulalip Tribes have catalogued hundreds more culverts that fully or partially block fish passage under non-state roadways, meaning they are tucked under county roads, city streets, forest roads, railroad crossings and private drives. All of these can pose roadblocks to salmon migrating from their natal streams to sea and back again to spawn.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” said Brett Shattuck, the restoration, acquisition and stewardship program manager for Tulalip.
To break down these fish barriers, Tulalip is working closely with the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) that is responsible for the state-owned culverts beneath highways and interstates, as well as forming partnerships with a wide variety of stakeholders including Snohomish County, area cities, BNSF Railway, and nonprofits such as Sound Salmon Solutions, Trout Unlimited and Adopt a Stream Foundation.
“It really does take a collaborative approach,” Shattuck said.
Each big-ticket project completed by WSDOT improves the odds that tribes like Tulalip and other organizations can secure funding for other projects needed nearby.
“It facilitates lighting a fire,” Shattuck said. “Any and all of these projects are really important by themselves for fish passage, but combining them with WSDOT projects really increases the benefit, to make habitat connectivity happen.”
Fish passage barriers are anything that might prevent fish from moving upstream. Culverts can become fish passage barriers when their size creates a firehose effect in water flow, their placement creates a drop in elevation, or they become clogged with debris—all obstacles difficult for salmon to overcome. Few culverts block 100% of fish 100% of the time.
“Most barriers fall between 30-60%; some fish are getting through, just not all fish,” Shattuck said.
That means even if barriers to fish passage remain upstream or downstream of project sites, segments of improved habitat connectivity can give salmon populations a boost. This, combined with factors including ownership, cost and funding availability, makes it unnecessary to limit fish passage improvement projects to chronological order from the mouths of rivers upstream.
“It’s important that we get these barriers done when we can, and then we build on that,” Shattuck said.
Coordination is key for habitat connectivity
On an unnamed tributary to the Snoqualmie River, the Tulalip Tribes in 2021 removed a barrier to fish passage known as the Haberzetle Dam. The earthen dam near Carnation held a culvert 4 feet above the water level, fully blocking fish from getting upstream.
Removal of the dam opened fish habitat that had been inaccessible for 80 years. Six months after construction, Tulalip biologists documented Endangered Species Act-listed juvenile chinook salmon upstream of the site.
“Every mile counts,” said Natasha Coumou, restoration ecologist for Tulalip. “The fish can’t wait.”
Tulalip planned the Haberzetle Dam Removal project in coordination with private landowners, as well as in coordination with a WSDOT fish passage project where the same stream intersects with Highway 203. The state’s construction began in 2024 and is expected to wrap up this year.
The way these two projects are extending a runway of habitat shows the power of working together, Shattuck said.
“We recognize that to get the full benefit of WSDOT injunction culverts, we need to work with all the partners in the area and build off of those big expensive projects to make sure we have connected watersheds,” he said.
Encouraged by the value and success of coordinated fish barrier removal at Haberzetle Dam and other sites, Tulalip has developed an approach to build more partnerships, combine areas of expertise and qualify for more project funding.
The Haberzetle Dam removal was supported by funding from the state’s Fish Barrier Removal Board and the Open Rivers Fund.
Tulalip also has secured federal funding to support the ongoing rollout of local fish passage improvement projects, including $31 million in grant dollars through National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fish passage programs. That funding will support projects led by seven partner organizations at more than 40 barriers in the region, opening nearly 150 miles of fish habitat.
This year, Tulalip is leading the replacement of five privately owned fish barriers and is working with BNSF and Snohomish County on seven others.
Above: The Haberzetle Dam was replaced in 2021 with a 50-foot bridge, providing the landowner continued access to part of their property and giving safe passage to fish. Photos from Tulalip Tribes. Story by Kimberly Cauvel.
