But county project managers say the recently installed woody debris serves an important purpose: protecting shorelines and promoting salmon migration.

Pierce County Parks and Recreation officials placed the stumps at 12 to 15 spots along the lakeshore late last month.

They’re trying to prevent erosion and create shallow areas where fish can hide from predators on their way to spawning grounds, said Terry Larson, a capital projects coordinator with the Parks Department.

“What’s happened is people have walked there so much that all the natural material that was there is gone,” Larson said. “This is a standard therapy for damaged wetlands.”

Richards, 69, said he thinks it’s wrong for the Parks Department to block people from the water. Even more problematic, he said, is how the stumps and rootwads damage the appearance of 135-acre Spanaway Park.

“We shouldn’t have to look at these things,” Richards said. “They’re god-awful.”

Other parkgoers Thursday noticed the new additions, too.

Jeremy Parsons, who comes to the park regularly to fish, said he assumed the stumps were the county’s way of disposing of fallen debris from recent windstorms.

“It doesn’t stop anyone from going down there or anything; it just looks ugly,” said Parsons, 26. “But if it helps, then whatever.”

Larson said the Parks Department has done several things to mitigate the effects of the shoreline restoration, including building a new boat ramp and concrete bulkhead for better water access. Crews also added a 3-mile pavement trail and renovated the park’s bathrooms and two beach areas.

Those improvements are part of a $2.2 million upgrade package the Parks Department began about 31/2 years ago. The county spent about $5,000 to put in the woody debris.

“There’s still lots of places for people to get down to the lake,” Larson said. “We’re trying to improve people’s access to the water.”

The shoreline improvements support recent efforts to create salmon routes through Spanaway Lake, said Hans Hunger, a capital improvement manager with the county Water Programs Division.

The county created a bypass around a dam blocking salmon flow at the north end of the lake last year. Now small fish can reach some of the wetland areas in the lake and beyond, if they have natural shorelines to follow, Hunger said.

“When we do a project, we try to incorporate as many natural beaches as we can,” Hunger said. “This really provides them with a means to get to good habitats.”

Steelhead and coho are the fish the county has in mind, he said.

King County has used large woody debris as a means to restore its shorelines and continues to include it in draft revisions to its shoreline master plan.

Some park patrons have an optimistic take on the debris, though they still aren’t fans of the visual effect.

“Once vegetation grows in around there, it will look fine,” said Peter Bernard, 62. “It’s just dumping it there that looks funny.”

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058