Removing a small causeway in the Tri-Cities could have big impacts for salmon, according to years of study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Nation.
Just downstream of the mouth of the Yakima River, Bateman Island is popular with birders and hikers. People experiencing homelessness in the Tri-Cities have also sometimes camped out on the island.
It’s uncertain how the Bateman Island causeway came to be, said Mike Livingston, the south-central regional director for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife…