Natural Systems Design 12/16/2022

EVERETT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT  SMITH ISLAND ESTUARY RESTORATION YEARS 5 & 6 MONITORING  NSD will work with EPWD to document the benefits of estuary-wide data collection to the project and coordinate with regulatory agencies regarding change from the Advance Mitigation Plan methods if that is determined to be necessary.  Snohomish County/Tulalip Tribes will provide summary data collected within the site to NSD in time for inclusion in the Year 5 monitoring report. Task 4: Year 5 Wildlife Use Monitoring The Project site is intended to provide habitat for a variety of wildlife species, including waterfowl and shorebirds. Per Tables 6-1 and 6-2 of the Advance Mitigation Plan, wildlife use monitoring is required in Year 5 to document the wildlife species that are using the project site. Data Collection Wildlife monitoring will take place during both spring and summer sampling periods when maximum use by wildlife, including migratory shorebirds typically occurs. Each monitoring period will extend across an entire day to capture wildlife use at both low and high tide conditions. NSD will conduct thirty-minute point count surveys at or near the survey stations utilized during the Year 3 data collection. The location of the fixed survey stations will be dispersed around the Project site in order to allow as many habitats as possible to be viewed during each survey and will be consistent to the extent practicable with the survey stations utilized during the Year 3 data collection. In addition, the biologist will walk the western setback dike and the southern dike and will enter the Project site at selected locations chosen to provide access to several different vegetation communities, if such locations are physically accessible and can be walked without causing unnecessary disturbance to wildlife. Data Analysis NSD will document the wildlife species documented using the mitigation site per the performance standards specified in the Advance Mitigation Plan and will compare the species documented to that reported in the Years 1 and 3 Monitoring Reports. NSD will prepare summary tables and figures for inclusion in the Year 5 Monitoring Report (Task 5). Task 4 Deliverables:  Year 5 wildlife data analysis and summary tables for inclusion in Task 5, Year 5 Monitoring Report Task 4 Assumptions:  The site can be safely accessed by foot for the wildlife use transects.  Site conditions are such that spring and summer wildlife use data collection can each be accomplished within 1, 10-hour day including travel by a team of two biologists. Task 5: Year 5 Performance Monitoring Report DocuSign Envelope ID: B75A46E0-B4A7-4C6C-B91E-69B691B92514