This tidal wetland stretches along 2,000 feet of Nelson Creek and a quarter mile of the Elochoman River, and is popular with hunters during waterfowl season. There are no maintained trails, but you can walk along an old dirt road. A major restoration project was completed in 2022 that allowed Nelson Creek to flow through its historic floodplain at this site. The ground can be very wet and swampy here, but showcases many different native plants and restoration features.
Recreational Activities: Hunting, fishing
Access:
⇒ Hunting: waterfowl are huntable here. Please fill out a Columbia Land Trust hunting access permit request form at least two weeks in advance.
⇒ Fishing and other: open access for walk-in activities, no permission needed.
⇒ Day use only
Dogs: No dogs allowed
Amenities: None
Trails: There is an old dirt road at one of the access points, but no maintained trails.
Acreage: 155 acres
County: Wahkiakum County
Nearest Town: Cathlamet, WA
Directions: This site is accessible from a few points along Risk Road and Foster Road- there are several pullouts and entry points. Any can be used as long as you’re parking near the road and not far into the natural area. One of the larger pullouts is located at 46.231126, -123.376247 and is also near the old dirt road. Please do not drive on this dirt road.
Tips for Visiting: This site is popular with hunters during waterfowl season. Please be safe and respectful of hunters if you visit during this time. If hunting, please follow all state and federal hunting regulations, as well as Columbia Land Trust’s hunting rules. Nelson Creek Swamp is very tidally influenced. Check tide tables and plan accordingly; water levels can change by several feet between high and low tides. Dogs are not allowed here due to the presence of threatened Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus).
Year Conserved: 2007, 2018
About this Unit: Beginning in 2007, multiple land acquisitions brought together Columbia Land Trust’s Nelson Creek Swamp unit, which is bounded by the mainstem Elochoman River, Washington State Route 4, Risk Road, and Foster Road in Wahkiakum County. The Nelson Creek unit is adjacent to our Indian Jack Slough unit, and the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge, which connects wildlife habitat, including for federally and state threatened Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) and threatened Lower Columbia River salmon runs.
For more than 70 years, Nelson Creek, which is a tributary of the Elochoman River, was diverted from its historic path into an undersized culvert and roadside ditch. This led to significant flooding over Risk Road, the decline of an adjacent Sitka spruce swamp, and reduced the quality of in-stream habitat for Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) salmon, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and native lamprey.
In 2022, Columbia Land Trust completed a major restoration project to restore the Nelson Creek floodplain to historic conditions. Working with Wahkiakum County, the project included construction of a new 50-foot bridge for Nelson Creek to flow beneath, notably reducing road flooding. It also included excavating about two miles of stream channel and tidal tributaries. Now, Nelson Creek flows through the site, giving fish the ability to travel further upstream to potential spawning sites. In the new channels, 61 log jams were added to increase in-stream habitat complexity, which juvenile salmonids need as they rest, feed, and grow on their journey to the Pacific Ocean.
In addition to improving habitat for salmonids, the project restored over 150 acres of habitat for threatened Columbian white-tailed deer. After construction concluded, stewardship staff and contract crews installed about 200,000 native plants, including Sitka, Pacific, and Hooker’s willow, red-osier dogwood, Sitka spruce, and black cottonwood over the winter. This revegetation shades stream channels, replaces invasive pasture grasses, and provides cover and forage for threatened Columbian white-tailed deer and other wildlife. The tangled vegetation, beaver pockets, and flow channels at this site create complex habitat rich in diversity and function.
Project Partners: Wahkiakum County, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Section 6 Endangered Species Act grant program, and Bonneville Power Administration