About the Project

Haberzetle Dam was a 65-foot-wide earthen dam used as a bridge and, before the pond behind the dam filled with silt, water for livestock. The dam crosses an unnamed creek that is a
tributary to the Snoqualmie River and completely blocks fish from entering the river. At the mouth of the river, where the Snoqualmie meets the Puget Sound, sits the 35-square-mile reservation of the federally recognized Tulalip Tribes of Washington where 2,700 of its 5,000+ members live.

The Tulalip Tribes’ Natural Resources Department is leading an extensive salmon restoration effort in the Snoqualmie River watershed as one of two priority river basins within their Treaty-designated hunting and fishing area.

The Tulalip Tribes worked with the landowner to replace the dam in the fall of 2021 with a bridge that allows the Haberzetles to access their property on the other side of the creek. In late 2021, after the project was completed, a salmon redd was found upstream of the dam, demonstrating the immediate impact of the project.

The Tribes are also coordinating with the Washington State Department of Transportation to remediate a nearby highway culvert immediately upstream of the Haberzetle Dam as part of the federal court-ordered program to remediate fish-blocking culverts on state highways. Without the Haberzetle project, fish would not reach the upstream culvert project.

Joe Haberzetle and his brother are third-generation co-owners of the 40-acre property. The brothers eagerly supported and financially contributed to the project and its end goal to restore salmon on their property and for the Tribes.