WEBVTT

00:00.354 --> 00:02.854
(piano music)

00:34.276 --> 00:36.859
(upbeat music)

00:37.890 --> 00:41.660
- [Bill] This Kilisut Harbor
Oak Bay restoration project

00:42.680 --> 00:46.020
benefits water quality, nearshore habitat

00:46.020 --> 00:48.974
and spin fish and shellfish stocks.

00:48.974 --> 00:51.040
Especially Salmon had stocks

00:51.040 --> 00:54.140
coming out of South Puget
Sound and Hook Canal.

00:54.140 --> 00:55.400
They have a migration routes

00:55.400 --> 00:59.520
that enables them to find Refugio forge

00:59.520 --> 01:02.030
and hide from predators
and kill us at Harvard

01:03.248 --> 01:05.240
because of the eel
extensive eel grass beds

01:05.240 --> 01:08.890
that align the entire Harbor
which has over 2000 acres.

01:08.890 --> 01:12.590
So this being one of the
largest restoration projects

01:12.590 --> 01:15.800
undertaken in the Marine
environment for Puget sound,

01:15.800 --> 01:18.383
is pretty amazing.

01:19.272 --> 01:20.105
- [Rebecca] Yes.

01:20.105 --> 01:23.090
So, it takes a lot of partners
to do a project of this size.

01:23.090 --> 01:26.240
And of course, department of
transportation owning the road.

01:26.240 --> 01:29.170
They were a critical partner
and the Navy owning a lot

01:29.170 --> 01:31.970
of the property was of
course a critical partner

01:33.370 --> 01:38.370
and the tribes were critical
not only in the scientific data

01:38.620 --> 01:40.620
that they collected to
help us prove the case,

01:40.620 --> 01:43.583
but also bringing money to the project.

01:44.690 --> 01:47.550
The Navy was a really important
partner in this project

01:47.550 --> 01:50.480
and this project would
not have been possible

01:50.480 --> 01:52.530
without the partnership of the Navy,

01:52.530 --> 01:55.850
because a lot of it takes
place on Navy property,

01:55.850 --> 01:59.890
where we needed permission
to excavate old title channel

01:59.890 --> 02:02.890
and actually build part of the
spreads out at Navy property.

02:04.960 --> 02:08.120
- [Bill] August of 2019,
was the groundbreaking

02:08.120 --> 02:09.790
for this project.

02:09.790 --> 02:13.220
And throughout the courses
of that summer, fall, winter,

02:13.220 --> 02:15.230
and now into this summer,

02:15.230 --> 02:17.130
this project has been steadily working

02:18.000 --> 02:20.180
and has almost come to completion here.

02:20.180 --> 02:22.570
So behind me is the title connection,

02:22.570 --> 02:24.850
that was the main focus of this project

02:24.850 --> 02:26.950
and the bridge that allows that to happen.

02:28.120 --> 02:29.010
- [Cmdr.Donald] You know,
when you say something

02:29.010 --> 02:30.690
took nine years, that's pretty incredible.

02:30.690 --> 02:32.445
Anytime you get that
many partners together,

02:32.445 --> 02:35.478
working on a project of this magnitude

02:35.478 --> 02:36.311
over the course of a decade,

02:36.311 --> 02:40.780
it's pretty incredible to get
this through all the obstacles

02:40.780 --> 02:43.080
and the funding issues
and all the challenges.

02:45.260 --> 02:46.940
- [Rebecca] One of the unexpected

02:48.010 --> 02:51.410
outcomes of the project
is the community benefit.

02:51.410 --> 02:54.290
And we have seen a
tremendous amount of people

02:54.290 --> 02:57.100
utilizing the waterway
that we have created

02:57.100 --> 02:59.003
between Oak Bay and kill us at Harbor.

03:02.452 --> 03:03.285
- [Voice Of Cmdr. Emerson]
It is truly remarkable

03:03.285 --> 03:04.790
to see the water flowing between Oak Bay

03:04.790 --> 03:06.290
and Kelso Harbor once again.

03:06.290 --> 03:09.050
This restoration project was
possible due to the hard work

03:09.050 --> 03:10.990
of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition

03:10.990 --> 03:13.140
and there are many partner organizations.

03:13.140 --> 03:14.670
We all share the same vision of restoring

03:14.670 --> 03:16.670
this historic waterway that once ran

03:16.670 --> 03:18.920
between Indiana mayor stone Island.

03:18.920 --> 03:20.730
Today that vision is a reality.

03:20.730 --> 03:22.410
The Navy is proud to
support the partnership

03:22.410 --> 03:23.600
that made it happen.

03:23.600 --> 03:26.540
We support this project by
participating in site surveys,

03:26.540 --> 03:28.010
contributed design input.

03:28.010 --> 03:29.800
We helped the project
team secure construction

03:29.800 --> 03:34.160
and access easements for the
project site on Navy property.

03:34.160 --> 03:35.840
Our team helps secure
funding for this project

03:35.840 --> 03:38.840
through a $1 million mitigation
agreement with the tribes.

03:38.840 --> 03:40.850
Partnerships like this are
vital for the preservation

03:40.850 --> 03:42.130
of our beloved region.

03:42.130 --> 03:44.500
They also enable us to be good
stewards of the environment

03:44.500 --> 03:46.720
while bouncing our
national defense mission.

03:46.720 --> 03:48.800
As a reminder, Naval
magazine Indian Island,

03:48.800 --> 03:51.010
is a restricted access installation.

03:51.010 --> 03:53.710
Please remember that our beaches
are not open to the public.

03:53.710 --> 03:55.810
We hope that you enjoy
the restorative waterway

03:55.810 --> 03:57.170
around the island,

03:57.170 --> 03:58.900
while respecting our
installation boundaries

03:58.900 --> 04:00.283
and security requirements.