Private landowners can make a big difference in improving the health of our watershed and bringing back salmon to our waters. By partnering with groups like the Salmon Coalition to perform restoration projects on their land, they can improve the ecological and resale value of their property, all while contributing to a healthier watershed.

Habitat improvements might include riparian tree planting, fish passage barrier removal, gravel nourishment, livestock fencing, re-meandering channelized streams, or strategic placement of large woody debris. It is entirely up to the landowner what kind of restoration is performed, if any. As a non-regulatory community organization, NOSC is interested only in sharing possibilities and resources with interested and willing landowners.

Along with landowners, community and neighborhood groups are invited to adopt restoration project sites and become active stewards of their riparian community.

If you live on the Hoko River or one of its tributaries and you have a culvert that is failing to pass water, we may be able to provide a free assessment to see if your culvert is a barrier to fish. If it is, it may be eligible for a free repair or replacement. This is part of a project that the Salmon Coalition is undertaking to prioritize fish passage barriers within the Hoko watershed. If you are interested in having your culverts inventoried, or if you’d like to volunteer to help with these surveys, contact NOSC, at info@nosc.org or (360) 504-5611.

The goal of the Hoko Fish Barrier Prioritization Project is to collect and analyze fish barrier and habitat data, in order to create a prioritized list of fish passage barriers for removal or replacement in the Hoko River watershed. The Hoko River sub basin has been identified by the Fish Barrier Removal Board as a top priority watershed for the recovery of salmonids in the Puget Sound region. This project will also help landowners by paying for the replacement or removal of failing or unwanted culverts that qualify. Clogged or failing culverts can cause road washouts, erosion, and flooding which is not good for humans or fish.