Larrabee State Park Clayton Beach Restoration

Herrera has been supporting the Northwest Straits Foundation in armor debris removal and restoration of Clayton Beach, located in the southern reaches of Larrabee State Park. Armor removal feasibility and detailed wave modeling has been applied to assure that the restoration will not lead to further erosion of the adjacent Burlington Northern Santa Fae railway. Objectives of the restoration are to remove the historical debris and fill to re-create a more natural, sustainable beach that will be resilience to impacts of climate change (sea level rise and increased storminess). Currently, nearshore habitats including dense eelgrass beds and valuable forage fish spawning habitat are constrained, buried and squeezed between the shoreline and the extensive historical debris. A range of restoration design alternatives have been developed which will soon be shared with stakeholders and eventually forwarded to permit-ready designs, followed by restoration implementation.