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Steigerwald project had ‘productive year’

Refuge restoration is on schedule, within budget; completion expected in early 2022

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Contributed photo courtesy Chris Collins Construction crews revamped the parking lot at Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year as part of the Steigerwald Connection Project. (Contributed photo courtesy of Chris Collins)

2020 has been a big year for the massive Steigerwald Reconnection Project happening at the national Steigerwald Lake wildlife refuge located on the edge of Washougal.

“I would say we had a successful, productive year,” said Chris Collins, a principal restoration ecologist for the Portland-based Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, which is working with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Port of Camas-Washougal to reconfigure the existing Columbia River levee system to reduce flood risk, reconnect 965 acres of Columbia River floodplain at the refuge and increase recreation opportunities.

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