The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) is undertaking a monumental estuary restoration project in the heart of the Washington State capitol. The Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project will restore 260 acres of estuarine and salt-marsh habitat in South Puget Sound. The estuary is at the mouth of the Deschutes River, on the footsteps of the Washington State Capitol Campus, along the shoreline of downtown Olympia, and within the Usual and Accustomed Fishing Grounds of the Squaxin Island Tribe. The project will remove the 5^th Avenue Dam and associated tide gate, which were built in 1951 to make the Deschutes Estuary into a freshwater reflecting pool for the Washington State Capitol Campus.

• Providing productive habitat for shellfish, salmon, and other anadromous species, including aquatic species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
• Serving as a key step in restoring productive migratory fisheries in south Puget Sound and advancing Orca recovery.
• Addressing chronic water quality violations by improving dissolved oxygen conditions in Budd Inlet.
• Increasing climate resiliency across downtown Olympia by reducing maximum flood elevations by up to 1 foot compared to conditions with the 5^th Avenue Dam in place.
• Producing habitat that will better sequester carbon than existing conditions.
• Celebrating the Pacific Northwest through native plantings, interpretive signs, and Tribal art installations.
• Restoring active public use of the waterbody with new boardwalks, water access points, and fishing piers.