Gold Creek Restoration

Restoring native vegetation at Gold Creek

Why is Gold Creek important?

The Gold Creek valley is an essential pathway for wildlife moving north and south in Washington's Cascades and needs greater protection and connectivity. The beautiful valley funnels wildlife from the core habitats north of Interstate 90 in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area to protected lands south of I-90 including the William O Douglas Wilderness. Gold Creek itself is home to threatened bull trout, and the habitat surrounding the creek is home to and a travel way for species including black bear, elk, and deer. This area is critical to the recovery of wide-ranging species throughout the Cascades including the North Cascades grizzly bear.

Gold Creek has been identified as one of three creeks of focus for the Upper Yakima Watershed Action Group, and is within a Connectivity Enhancement Area in the Washington Department of Transportation's I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project. The Dept. of Transportation plans to extend the bridge over Gold Creek to allow for the natural flow of water under the highway to provide an additional, year-round dry wildlife crossing as part of traffic improvements to this portion of Interstate 90. Groundbreaking for this effort begins in 2009.

So, what are we doing?

Conservation Northwest volunteers began restoration efforts in October 2007 with Defenders of Wildlife and the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest.  We planted native tree species in the gravel lot and along the streamsides to begin re-introducing conifers to the area (photo to the right).  We have followed that effort in 2008 by removing invasive species in this area, and looking at potentials to propagate tough native plant species that are already on site to plant in next spring or fall. 

In July 2008, we teamed with partners Discover Your Northwest, SCA, Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and Friends of the Forest to achieve more restoration on both the recreational facility and for wildlife including installation of bird boxes as pictured to the left.

In September 2008, volunteers from Microsoft pulled St. John's Wort and ox-eye daisy near the stream and lakesides. We broke down fallen trees and gathered duff to contribute to organic material to amend the site.

As part of our Cascades Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Program, we've also been monitoring wildlife presence in this corridor through snowtracking and remote cameras since 2006. The photo to the right is a black bear caught on camera in 2008.

Efforts continue including a restoration party on trail restoration, additional bird boxes, and invasive species removal. Visit our calendar for upcoming events and make sure to contact our office if you are interested in helping in this effort!