Rerouting the Mineral Creek Trail to Help the Endangered Bull Trout
Within the Central Cascades, a critical restoration effort to restore the Kachess River and protect endangered bull trout is rerouting the Mineral Creek trail—balancing access to recreation while being sensitive to habitat protection for fish and other species. While the Mineral Creek trail links recreationists to the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, a path spanning from Mexico to Canada that also crosses the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area, the trailhead and about half a mile of the trail itself sat directly in the Kachess River’s historic floodplain. This river is one of the few remaining holdouts for the federally listed bull trout.
The Challenges Facing Bull Trout
Lake and river ecosystems in the Upper Yakima Basin were profoundly impacted by early 20th century construction of dams without fish passage structures. Bull trout, which feed on salmon fry (among other prey) and require cold, clean water to thrive, were particularly impacted. Populations of bull trout were isolated from one another on a local and regional scale, and over time ecologists have watched these populations vanish from their home rivers. The upper Kachess River population is still hanging on but faces several challenges. Increasing global temperatures and the lack of old growth trees naturally dying and falling into rivers have left young fish with warmer water, eroded stream banks, and barren reaches that offer little to eat and no refuge from predators.
Balancing Recreation and Habitat Conservation
In 2023, the Kittitas Conservation Trust (KCT) completed a $4 million restoration project to improve conditions for migration, spawning, and habitat in hopes of recovering these bull trout. KCT constructed engineered log structures to slow water and trap spawning gravels, removed old levees to reconnect side-channel habitat, and planted tens of thousands of native shrubs and trees across the floodplain. Access to Mineral Creek Trail was understandably closed down during this time; the trailhead and first half mile of trail were decommissioned and removed from the floodplain to prevent it from restricting the natural flow of water. KCT worked with the United States Forest Service to identify a new trailhead location uphill from the restoration zone, but did not have the expertise to lay out or construct a connector trail.
In 2024, the Greenway Trust secured a grant from the Legacy Trails Program to return recreation to the area while protecting restoration efforts. Our professional Trail Crew members spent six weeks excavating .3 miles of new trail into a steep hillside above the floodplain, carving seven switchbacks by hand and chiseling through unexpected patches of granite to reconnect the truncated Mineral Creek Trail to its new future trailhead site.
Re-opening the Mineral Creek Trail
In 2025, the Greenway Trust will finish the trail, connect it to new trailhead facilities, and work with volunteers to improve the trail from where it leaves the restoration zone and reconnects with the Little Kachess Trail #1312, about .25 miles east of the river. After several years of closure, Mineral Creek Trail will require brushing, treadwork, and drainage repairs to reopen it for public use. Sign up for our Volunteer E-News to receive updates about trail work opportunities and help steward these important landscapes!
