archaeology and the fish passage barrier federal …...aashto 2018 joint meeting cultural resources...
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AASHTO 2018 Joint Meeting
Cultural Resources SubcommitteeJuly 17, 2018
Archaeology and the Fish Passage
Barrier Federal Court Injunction in
Washington State
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“[the] right of taking fish, secured to the
Tribes in the Stevens Treaties, imposes
a duty upon the State to refrain from
building or operating culverts under
State-maintained roads that hinder fish
passage and thereby diminish the
number of fish that would otherwise be
available for Tribal harvest.”
Photo by Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun
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2013 Federal Court Injunction
A federal court injunction, issued in March 2013, requires the state
to significantly increase the effort for removing state-owned
culverts in western Washington that block habitat for salmon
and steelhead.
• The injunction requires WSDOT to fix more than 800 barriers by 2030.
• Barrier culverts blocking up to 10% of the total blocked habitat can be
deferred until ‘end of life’ or corrected as part of other transportation projects.
As a result, WSDOT estimates that approximately 418 culverts need to be
corrected to open up 90% of the habitat as required by the injunction.
• The general cost estimate for meeting the injunction is $2.4 billion.
Significantly more funding is needed.
Injunction was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2018
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Fish Passage Projects
WSDOT has been working for many years to remove fish passage
barriers, completing a total of 319 fish passage projects
statewide as of July 2017.
• In 2018, WSDOT plans to correct an additional 18 barriers, opening up 147.3
miles of stream habitat.
Nordstrom Creek project — BEFORE
The former culvert at the State Route 112 crossing Nordstrom Creek
was a barrier to fish passage because of high water velocities and
drops that were too high for fish to jump.
Nordstrom Creek project — AFTER
A new 17-foot wide concrete box structure was constructed in 2017 for
$2.3 million. The new structure provides access to 3 miles of habitat
for coho salmon, steelhead, searun cutthroat and resident trout.
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Given their location along streams and shorelines, most projects
have a high potential for encountering archaeological resources.
• Barrier culverts need to be removed and replaced with bridges or ‘stream
simulation’ culverts, which in most cases will have a larger footprint than the
existing culvert.
Fish Passage Projects and Archaeology
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Fish Barriers Subject to Injunction
According to the DAHP
Archaeology Predictive
Model, roughly 75% are in
areas of very high or high
risk
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Fish Barriers Subject to Injunction
Surprisingly, only 35
recorded sites are
intersected when a 500
foot buffer is included for
each culvert.
Low numbers are likely
due to the fact that very
few of the culvert locations
have been previously
surveyed.
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WSDOT survey in 2013 identified archaeological site 45KP233 on Sinclair
Inlet in Puget Sound. Data recovery excavations were completed in 2015.
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Xe’1xELStEtca’bEts
Du3xö’i
Seshwa’p
Sq3a’le
Txqiaba’dib
Tc3lcadxu
Tca3tLtce’labid
Qw3Eq3ks
Base map: US Coast and Geodetic Survey, Sinclair Inlet, 1909
Mouth of creek is associated with an
ethnographic place name meaning
“good”
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AD 900 – 930
▪ earthquake on Seattle Fault uplifted the site landform
▪ at least 200 years before site occupation
~AD 1155 to 1255
▪ initial site occupation
▪ hunting and fishing camp, but no shellfish
▪ lithic re-sharpening and tool maintenance
~AD 1275 to 1800(?)
▪ shell midden
▪ seasonal hunting/fishing/shellfishing camp (harvest and processing)
▪ still hunting land mammals, but fish relatively more important
▪ bone tools continue, but very few lithics
~AD 1850s to 1890s?
▪ trade beads and small assemblage of other Euro-American goods, but
also traditional (e.g. bone) tools
▪ continued to hunt and fish same species, but limited evidence of
shellfish use
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Roughly 100 pounds of shell were cleaned, sorted and
identified to species.
clam species dominated, but there were surprisingly high
numbers of dogwinkles (20% by weight)
Bone assemblage dominated by fish remains (64%)
salmonids dominate the identified fishes
salmonid (66%), flatfish (22%), spiny dogfish (5%)
Significant amounts of mammal remains (29%)
deer and elk dominate the identified mammal remains
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The triangular point on the lower
left had rabbit blood residue on it,
and the flake tool above had
trout/salmon residue.
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88 stone artifacts made of
jasper (52%), chert,
chalcedony, obsidian, and
basalt.
Mostly small flakes
Mostly from Layer 7
12 pieces of obsidian, sourced to
Glass Buttes, Oregon