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WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Project and Program Updates
Salmon SEEson Program Kicks Off!
The WRIA 8-led Salmon SEEson program kicked off in August, coordinating with program partners to highlight and promote opportunities for the public to see salmon in local streams and rivers when they return this summer and fall. The Salmon SEEson website provides a map and details for several self-guided viewing locations as well as in-person interpretive viewing opportunities.
As of mid-August, this year’s sockeye count through the Ballard Locks is 23,113, which is on pace to be the fourth lowest return on record (since 1972) and substantially below the 10-year average return. Chinook began their return in early July, and so far, 5,308 have been counted through the Locks (as of 8/11). This is higher than the 5-year and 10-year average return, but we are only 25% through the typical run and it is too early to know how the total run size will compare to previous years. It’s also important to note that, in recent years, numbers of salmon predicted by the Ballard Locks counts have been much higher than the numbers of salmon observed reaching the hatcheries and spawning grounds. So, although the Locks counts indicate a strong number of Chinook, the return is likely to still be below the numbers needed on the spawning grounds to meet population recovery goals. Coho are anticipated to begin their return in early September.
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Salmon SEEson is coordinated by WRIA 8 with additional sponsorship support from the Saving Water Partnership, Duwamish Alive Coalition, the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed (WRIA 9), the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, and King County.
Salmon Recovery Council Visit to Tretheway Project on Bear Creek
On July 18, after the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council meeting at Redmond City Hall, several Salmon Recovery Council partners met with Amani Moyer-Ali from Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group to tour the Bear Creek Tretheway Restoration project. It was impressive to see the scale of stream and riparian area restoration that was accomplished at this site, which involved work on multiple adjacent private properties. The project included enhancing 1,000 linear feet of Bear Creek, constructing a side channel and reconnecting the creek to its floodplain, removal of 160 cubic yards of rock armoring, 60 “key” logs and 210 racking logs, and over 2,000 native plants installed!
City of Bellevue Lakemont Boulevard Culvert Project – Phase 2
Coal Creek, one of Bellevue's largest streams, is home to several fish species, including salmon and trout. The City of Bellevue recently completed Phase 1 of the Lakemont Boulevard Culvert Emergency project, which involved construction of a bridge to replace a failing section of roadway over Coal Creek. Phase 2 of the project will remove a deteriorating culvert and fish passage barrier under Lakemont Boulevard and restore instream habitat and connectivity for fish and wildlife in the uppermost portion of the Coal Creek Watershed near Cougar Mountain.
City of Shoreline Recertified as a Salmon-Safe City
On June 21, 2024, Shoreline achieved recertification as a Salmon-Safe city. Shoreline is Washington’s first Salmon-Safe municipality, and only the second certified city in the nation after Portland, Oregon. Salmon-Safe, the Oregon-based environmental certification nonprofit dedicated to restoring water quality in West Coast salmon watersheds, closely aligns with Shoreline’s commitment to environmental stewardship. The City will have five years to fulfill the nine conditions, which include developing specific GIS analysis for stormwater treatment; implementing a stream monitoring program; enhancing salmon-friendly habitat restoration efforts; and implementing bioretention projects along Aurora.
"Being recertified as a salmon-safe city is a big accomplishment for Shoreline,” stated Shoreline Mayor Chris Roberts. “It is a testament to our community’s commitment to preserving Puget Sound and being good stewards of our natural environment. Salmon are representatives of the larger ecosystem. Without a healthy salmon population, we don’t have a healthy Puget Sound, and that impacts every one of us.” For more information, contact Paige Scheid, Sustainability Manager, pscheid@shorelinewa.gov, 206-801-2455.
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Community Action Training School
Mid Sound's all-ages Community Action Training School is nearing the end of its 2024 programming (May 8- Sep 21). This dynamic and inquisitive cohort is finalizing their 50-hour Stewardship Action Projects, engaging with their community and impacting behavior change to strengthen the health of the watershed. Many folks from the WRIA 8 community have inspired our students to activate their voices, pointed them to resources and invited them to restoration events around WRIA 8, and are highlighted below. Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group is incredibly grateful to our funders and all our partners and speakers over the years who have made this program possible!
2024 speakers include:
- Alix Lee-Tigner, Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership
- Mark Clemens and Natasha Kacoroski, Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery
- David Montgomery, University of Washington
- Curtis DeGasperi, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks
- Amani Moyer-Ali, Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group
- Eric Adman and David Bain, SnoKing Watershed Council
- David Kyle, Trout Unlimited
- Michael Bailey, Snoqualmie Indian Tribe: Environmental and Natural Resources
- Denise Di Santo, King County Basin Stewards
- Jeff Jensen, UW Bothell and Kokanee Work Group
- Bill Malatinsky, Seattle Public Utilities: RainWise
- Vanessa Kritzer, Redmond City Council and Washington Associations of Land Trusts
- Aaron Bosworth, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
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Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group 2023 Annual Report
Mid Sound has released their 2023 Annual Report! Take a peek at some of the projects worked on, partnering with residents to restore streams and estuaries beneficial to the health of salmon populations and creating outdoor educational programming with schools and teachers for all-ages.
Salmon in the News
King County Study of Lake Washington Sediment Shows Decline in Once-Common Dangerous Chemicals.
Read the full article.
A New Beginning for Endangered Chinook.
Read the full article.
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