Weaverling Spit

This is a revisit to the site of a small-scale nourishment project that was done several years ago on the north side of Weaverling Spit (which is really a heavily modified tombolo, I think) on southern Fidalgo Bay.  The original project has held up nicely and is still one of my favorite examples of a nicely conceived soft shoreline treatment - in an earlier era, this would have all been riprap.

Weaverling: September 2009

Last fall, the Samish Tribe extended the concept to the southeast. This project used a larger prism of material, but still used a few anchored logs as small groins as did the earlier effort.  The backshore has been planted and I suspect these sites will age very nicely, as long as the invasive plants don't take over.

Ultimately, these beaches are still coarser than they were reported to be several decades ago and lack sufficient sand to support the historic levels of spawning (surf smelt, I think). Some of this may take time. Some may require some adaptive management.  But regardless, it deserves some watching and waiting.

Google Maps:  AERIAL VIEW
Ecology Coastal Atlas:  2006 AERIAL PHOTO