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Cowlitz County officials say a culvert on private land, and possibly another on county property, are blocking fish from the Kalama River from migrating up an unnamed stream.

County leaders Tuesday reviewed how much the county needed to widen its waterway under Kalama River Road to allow for more fish to pass through, but since a homeowner’s passage downstream already blocks fish, officials decided to install a smaller county culvert.

The county commissioners Tuesday OK’d an agreement with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife approving the county’s plan to replace the culvert at Kalama River Road milepost 2.37 without providing for fish passage. This option will be cheaper than installing a larger fish passage.

Susan Eugenis, county engineer, said Tuesday the state is allowing the agreement because the downstream blockage prevents any migrating fish from reaching the county’s culvert, so there is no need to make more room to allow fish to pass through the county’s waterway.

“Instead of us putting in a difficult, expensive culvert to allow fish passage to no fish, we’re entering into this agreement to put in a standard 36-inch culvert,” she said.

The agreement calls for the county to replace its 18-inch corrugated metal culvert with a 36-inch corrugated plastic culvert. Eugenis said it would cost an estimated $350,000 more to install a fish passage culvert and would take four to five weeks, compared to one week for the 36-inch culvert.

Once the downstream barrier is removed, WDFW will reassess the site for five years to determine if fish are accessing and using the habitat below the county culvert, according to the agreement. If fish are found, the county will have to replace the culvert with a fish passable crossing within five years.

Although approval should have been issued before the homeowner installed the culvert, one hasn’t been found on record, according to the agreement. State law requires people planning projects in or near state waters to get the approval from WDFW to ensure the construction is done in a manner that protects fish and their habitats, according to the agency’s website.

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a 2007 ruling that the state of Washington must replace hundreds of culverts that block salmon passage as part of its duty under the treaties with several tribes to preserve fish runs and habitat.

As part of the court order, the state is obligated to fix culverts under state roads. Smaller jurisdictions are encouraged to coordinate with the state in barrier removal to make the efforts effective, according to the Association of Washington Cities.

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Visitors leave the Cowlitz County administration building.

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