We’re proud to support local partners including Kittitas Conservation Trust and the U.S. Forest Service – Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in efforts to restore Gold Creek, a critical corridor for wildlife moving under I-90 and a focal area for our Central Cascades Watersheds Restoration program.
As the headwaters of the Yakima River, Gold Creek winds out of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and passes under I-90 as it flows into Keechelus Lake near Hyak, just east of Snoqualmie Pass. Gold Creek was once a healthy wetland and creek habitat, teeming with biodiversity. Today, it’s an ecosystem dangerously out of balance.
The creek is known for its popular picnic area at a water-filled gravel pit named Gold Creek Pond. Unfortunately, the gravel pit was never restored to its natural state after the building of I-90. Today, despite its deceptive beauty, the area’s unnatural construction intensifies the creek’s annual dry period, and wildlife and fish, especially a threatened population of bull trout, are harmed as a result.
A coalition of partners has formed to support the restoration of Gold Creek and adjacent floodplain. Learn more in the new video below and at: restoregoldcreek.com. #RestoreGoldCreek #I90Wildlife
