Kitsap Sun: Gorst Chinook Run Changes
The Kitsap Sun reported on the potentially early-returning chinook to Sinclair Inlet in a few years. GORST — Three years from now, anglers and tribal fishermen should be able to…
Trees floating behind dam contribute to salmon recovery
ALDER – Over 100 trees that have fallen into the reservoir behind Alder Dam will be put to use constructing engineered logjams to create salmon habitat on Ohop Creek.
“Trees that wash into the lake from the river and get stuck behind the dam need to be removed before they become a nuisance,” said David Troutt, natural resources manager for the Nisqually Tribe, which is spearheading the effort to gather the logs. “We’re just taking them out and putting them to good use.” Juvenile salmon find both food and shelter within logjams. The structures also slow the flow of the creek, easing adult salmon migration.
“We know logjams benefit salmon because we’ve been monitoring other restoration projects. We really see a difference in the section of river with logjams and those without,” Troutt said. “There are a lot more salmon around the logjams.”
(more…)
The Olympian: Tribe uses Alder Lake debris for salmon restoration
From the Olympian this morning, an article about using trees from behind Alder Lake dam to restore a stretch of salmon habitat: Logs and other woody debris delivered during winter…
Squaxin Natural Resources blog on smolt trapping
Over at the Squaxin Island Tribe natural resource’s blog, they just added some new content on their smolt trapping efforts.
From the post:
The Squaxin Island Natural Resources (SINR) is currently collecting data to estimate the number of coho salmon smolts outmigrating from Mill, Cranberry, Goldsborough, Schumacher and Sherwood Creeks. These five creeks empty in to Deep South Puget Sound, with in the Squaxin Island Tribes usual and accustom areas.
Tacoma Weekly: Hatchery closing could devastate local fishing – and beyond
From the Tacoma Weekly:
Fishermen – tribal, commercial and sports – around the south Puget Sound area could be receiving more bad news if a proposal to close the 90-year-old Voights Creek Hatchery is approved in the state’s final budget later this month.
While recent statements from state wildlife officials and Puyallup Tribe officials working on plans to save the hatchery reflect cautious optimism that the hatchery might yet survive, there is plenty of concern to go around – in all quarters of the fishing industry – if it doesn’t.
(more…)
Fisheries Management
The tribes in Western Washington fish commercially, and for subsistence and ceremonial purposes. They fish for all species of salmon and steelhead in marine and freshwater areas of Puget Sound…
SRF Board grant funding and the Nisqually estuary
Chris Dunagan over at Watching Our Water Ways notes the generous nature of the last Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant round: This round of SRF Board funding was interesting in…
Nisqually Tribe Restores Yelm Creek Salmon Habitat
Almost ten years after a flood ravaged salmon habitat on Yelm Creek the Nisqually Tribe and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group are repairing some of the damage. “This entire area was underwater in 1996,” said Teresa Moon, project manager for the SPSSEG. “The flood changed a lot across the watershed, for good and for bad.” The tribe and the enhancement group are digging out a pond that was filled with sediment during the flood and opening salmon access to the upper creek by modifying a fish-blocking logjam in a steep canyon.
Nisqually Tribe, Enhancement Group Explore Off-Channel Habitat
NISQUALLY (June 20, 2003) — A river is more than just a line on a map; every side channel, slough and tributary stream helps create a complex and living river. The Nisqually Indian Tribe and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group are surveying off-channel habitat in the Nisqually River basin to target areas for protection and restoration. The information gathered during these surveys will guide the tribe and enhancement group in decisions on future habitat projects.