Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Silver Creek plan should be based on science

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    You wrote in your “Would project harm Silver Creek” article: “Jeremy Silvis, a fishing guide for Sturtevants Mountain Outfitters, stated in a letter that he worries the narrower channels would become too crowded with people for adequate fishing, and that the channels would be too narrow for floating tubes to pass.”
     It was never stated in any letter that channels would be too narrow for float tubes to pass—that is simply ridiculous. Anyone with any common sense would realize that the stream would have to be less than 2 feet wide in order for float tubes to not “pass.”
    What I mentioned was that the channels will possibly create a flow that is too strong for many anglers to navigate back up through after they float down into the pond. Since the land on the bank is private, anglers are forced to stay within the stream (high water mark) to navigate back up to the bridge where they put in with their float tubes. Again, it is common sense that increased stream flow from the narrower channels will create more velocity and hence make it more difficult to navigate back upstream to Kilpatrick Bridge.
    As for the channels becoming too crowded for adequate fishing, that was never stated either. What was stated is that if you reduce the stream area there will be “less area for fisherman.”
    I am not against restoration efforts at Silver Creek and removing the sediment that has been deposited in the pond, but I believe it should be done on a scale that is appropriate and studied beforehand. Science is the answer here—not my opinion or anyone’s opinion of pros/cons of this project. A clear science-based plan is what should be in order for this resource that we all share.
    The Nature Conservancy has done similar projects of removing sediment on a smaller scale with good results above Kilpatrick Bridge and has improved the quality of fishing and habitat in that stretch—all without building a cofferdam and de-watering and diverting 450 feet of Silver Creek in order to backfill.
Jeremy Silvis
Bellevue

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