syəcəb
Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is looking at this year’s large pink salmon run that is showing up in the White River but is causing a backup in the fishway, causing a problem for other salmon species to make it upstream. The study will look at the delay associated with the arrival of pinks.
Puyallup Tribe Pink Salmon Study from NW Indian Fisheries Commission on Vimeo.
Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network
As Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest work to restore salmon habitat and with it lost culture and treaty rights, they are grappling with the reality that continued development is undoing their efforts as they go. In September 2012 the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission released a report, “State of Our Watersheds,” documenting the results of local and state planning that have been in conflict with salmon habitat-recovery goals. Below are the principle findings as to what salmon habitat faces.
RELATED: Northwest Pacific Salmon Habitat Restoration Efforts Hampered by Development
1. Estuaries are losing functional habitat because of population increases in lower portions of watersheds. “In the Suquamish Tribe’s area of concern, there has been a 39 percent loss of vegetated estuarine wetland area and a 23 percent loss of natural shoreline habitats, particularly small ‘pocket’ estuaries,” the report states. “Moreover, there are now 18 miles of bulkheads, fill and docks armoring the shoreline and degrading near-shore salmon habitat.”
All told, some 40 percent of Puget Sound shorelines have some type of shoreline modification, with 27 percent of the shoreline armored.
2. Rapidly increasing permit-exempt wells threaten water for fish. Since 1980, there has been an 81 percent increase in the number of new wells being drilled per 100 new Puget Sound residents moving into the area. The number of exempt wells in the Skagit and Samish watersheds since 1980 has increased by 611 percent, from an estimated 1,080 exempt wells to approximately 7,232.
“When more water is extracted from an aquifer than is being recharged, aquifer volume is reduced and the natural outflow from the aquifer decreases,” the report states. “This reduces the amount of fresh water available to lakes, wetlands, streams and the Puget Sound nearshore, which can harm salmon at all stages of their life cycle.”
3. Degraded nearshore habitat is unable to support forage fish. “In the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s focus area, according to studies since the 1970s, herring stocks have decreased from a status of healthy to depressed,” the report states. “In Port Gamble and Quilcene bays, which contain two of the largest herring stocks in Puget Sound, approximately 51 percent of spawning areas inventoried by [the] Port Gamble [S’Klallam] Tribe have been either modified or armored.”
4. Timber harvest has removed vast amounts of forest cover throughout all watersheds. In the Stillaguamish watershed, only 23 percent of the 1,777 acres of riparian area currently have any forest cover. In the Snohomish River basin, the Salmon Conservation Plan recommends that 150-foot buffers on both sides of fish-bearing streams be at least 65 percent forested. In 2006, those buffers were just 41 percent forested, with no gain since 1992 and little increase since that time.
5. Streams lack large woody debris. Large woody debris plays an important role in channel stability and habitat diversity. Estimates of large woody debris in the Green and Cedar rivers are 89 to 95 percent below the levels necessary for “properly functioning conditions” for salmon habitat.
6. Barriers cut off vast amounts of fish habitat. Despite extensive restoration efforts, many fish passage barriers, such as culverts, tide gates and levees still block salmon from accessing many stream miles of habitat. In the Quileute management area, culverts fully or partially block more than 168 miles of stream habitat. Most of these culverts are located on private forestlands. Culverts in the Chehalis basin block or impede salmon access to more than 1,500 miles of habitat.
7. Agricultural practices negatively impact floodplains and freshwater wetlands. Diking, draining and removing trees have resulted in a loss of stream buffers, stream channels and wetlands, and resulted in increased sediment and polluted runoff from agricultural activities.
In 1880, the Nooksack basin contained 4,754 acres of wetland to 741 acres of stream channel. By 1938, nearly 4,500 acres (95 percent) of off-channel wetland area had been cleared, drained and converted to agriculture. As of 1998, the lower mainstem retained less than 10 percent of its historical wetlands.
As of 2006, riparian areas of the Skagit River delta region are 83 percent impaired. Of that amount, only 12 percent are developed; the remaining 71 percent of impaired lands support crops and pasture.
8. Sensitive floodplains are being overdeveloped. In the Lower Elwha Tribe’s area of concern, 37 percent of the Morse Creek floodplain has been zoned for development — from utility rights of ways to single-family homes. Downstream of Highway 101, nearly half of the floodplain has also been zoned for similar development.
9. Puget Sound-area impervious surface increased by 35 percent from 1986 to 2006. It is projected that by 2026, the amount of impervious surface will increase another 41 percent.
“The Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan (2007) lists ‘Minimize impervious surfaces’ as a key strategy for protecting habitat,” the report states. “Impervious surface causes increases in stream temperatures; decreases in stream biodiversity, as evidenced by reduced numbers of insect and fish species; and contributes to pollutants in storm-water runoff, which can contaminate local aquatic systems.”
10. Loss of forest cover continues. From 1988-2004, Western Washington forestlands have declined by 25 percent—a loss of 936,000 acres of state and private forestland converted to other uses. Recent research from the University of Washington indicates that nearly one million more acres of private forestland are threatened with conversion.
The Skagit River System Cooperative—operated by the governments of the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe and the Swinomish Tribe, in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Forest Service, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Pacific Salmon Commission and the state—recommends no new construction of riprap without mitigation. However, since 1998, at least one mile of riprap has been added to the existing 14 miles of riprap shoreline along the middle Skagit River.
“Shoreline armoring contributes to river channel degradation by impeding natural bank erosion and river meandering, and disconnecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, directly impacting salmon habitat,” according to the NWIFC’s report, “State of Our Watersheds.” “Young juvenile chinook have been shown to use river banks modified with riprap at densities five times lower than natural banks.”
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/09/03/state-our-watersheds-top-10-threats-northwest-salmon-habitat-151131
By Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
OLYMPIA – A crumbling 103-year-old fish-blocking diversion dam and inadequate fish passage system on the White River near Buckley need to be replaced because they are leading to injury and death for hundreds of threatened salmon, steelhead and bull trout, slowing salmon recovery efforts in the river system.
It’s common for some adult salmon to display a few cuts, scrapes and scars by the time they complete their ocean migration and return to spawn. That can take two to six years depending on the species.
But more and more fish are now being found at the foot of the diversion dam with gaping wounds and other injuries caused by exposed wooden boards, steel reinforcement bars and other parts of the deteriorating structure. Many of those fish later die from their injuries.
At the same time, an explosive revival of pink salmon has overwhelmed the inadequate trap-and-haul fish passage system operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At two years, pink salmon have the shortest life cycle of all salmon and are abundant in the Puget Sound region. Pink salmon returns to the White River have shot up in the past decade from tens of thousands to close to a million.
That’s led to massive crowding of returning adult spring chinook, steelhead and migrating bull trout at the foot of the diversion dam where salmon continually try to leap over the structure – injuring themselves in the process – in their effort to move upstream and spawn. All three species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The diversion dam, constructed in 1910, sends water from the river to Lake Tapps. The dam prevents adult salmon from reaching the Mud Mountain Dam farther upstream, which is also impassable to salmon. Instead, fish are collected in a 73-year-old trap just below the diversion dam, then trucked upriver and released above Mud Mountain Dam.
There’s been a lot of talk but no action to fix the fish passage problem in the river.
Back in 2007, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a biological opinion under the Endangered Species Act requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to upgrade the fish trap. So far, the Corps has ignored the order, claiming that it doesn’t have the money. NMFS, meanwhile, has turned a blind eye to the Corps’ documented illegal killing of ESA-listed salmon.
In 1986, only a handful of spring chinook returned to the White River, but today those returns number in the thousands because of the cooperative efforts of the Muckleshoot and Puyallup tribes, state government and others.
The Corps and NMFS need to step up to the plate and do their jobs. When they don’t, what they are really saying is that salmon, treaty rights, and years of effort and investment by so many of us here in Puget Sound don’t really matter.
Nanette Bradley Deetz, Native News Network
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA – On August 22, the Yurok Tribe received some excellent news. A federal court judge acknowledged the biological importance of supplemental water flows for Klamath River salmon. This was a far-reaching legal case between the Bureau of Reclamation, the Yurok tribe, as well as other tribes in the region against central California industrial agriculture.
Yurok tribal members Pete Thompson and Bob Ray cast a drift net into the Klamath River on the Yurok Reservation.
The Yurok Tribe of Klamath, California is the largest federally recognized tribe in California and is the single largest harvester of Klamath River salmon.
The Yurok reservation spans one mile on both sides of the Klamath River for 44 miles. The tribe requested 2,800 cubic feet per second of water flow to be released. This is the same rate of water flow per second that the Yurok fisheries experts defended in their scientific case in a Fresno, California courtroom. Originally the Bureau of Reclamation (at the Yurok tribe’s request) made additional water available in order to avert another fish kill. In 2002 a large fish kill occurred on the Yurok reservation in river conditions eerily similar to this year’s.
Above, Salmon is cooked in a traditional Yurok way. At least 272,000 Fall-run salmon are expected to return to the river.
“In 2002 more than 33,000 Chinook and Coho salmon died before reaching spawning grounds. It was heartbreaking to see the fish floating upside down on the river by the thousands. We learned from that tragedy. This year, when the water temperature was so high, and we knew we were expecting the 2nd or 3rd highest volume of returning salmon predicted in decades, we asked the Department of the Interior to increase water flow. But then the injunction was filed by agribusiness to stop it,”
said Yurok tribal Chairman Thomas O’Rourke, Sr.
In early August, Westlands Water District and San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority, which represent a large portion of California’s multibillion dollar agricultural industry, filed suit to stop the water flow from being released.
The Yurok tribe presented key science testimony to the court by two witnesses, Senior Fisheries Biologist Michael Belchik and Dr. Joshua Strange.
“Yurok science of the Klamath River basin is renowned not only in this nation, but abroad. This a western science that allows us to substantiate our claims,”
said Chairman O’Rourke, Sr.
At least 272,000 Fall-run salmon are expected to return to the river this year, almost 1.7 times the number that returned in 2002.
There is also a contingency plan in place. At the first sign that the salmon look diseased or distressed, the tribe will seek to have flows doubled for up to seven days. They will not allow the combination of low, warm river water and inadequate water flows to jeopardize the salmon.
“There is knowledge passed down from our ancestors to take care of our resources so that they will take care of us. We must ensure its continuance for future generations to come. The river is our lifeline,”
said Yurok Chairman Thomas O’Rourke Sr.
Millions of dollars have been spent to restore fish habitat in Western Washington.
Property owners pay taxes to local governments to control stormwater runoff.
State government and tribal fisheries have put huge investments into hatcheries.
“While all that has been going on, we’ve seen a precipitous decline in the survival rate of both hatchery fish as well as wild fish,” said Phil Anderson, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
That’s why the department, along with the Tulalip Tribes and 25 other organizations, are beginning a five-year study to determine why some species of salmon and trout are having trouble surviving their saltwater voyages.
The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, as it’s called, is an international effort. Canadian groups are agreeing to pay half of the estimated, eventual $20 million cost of the study.
The decline has been seen in fish runs both in Washington and British Columbia.
“The fish don’t know there’s a border,” said Mike Crewson, fisheries enhancement biologist for the Tulalip Tribes.
The marine survival rate for many stocks of Chinook and coho salmon, along with steelhead, has dropped more than 90 percent over the past 30 years, according to Long Live the Kings, a Seattle-based non-profit group formed around fish preservation.
Numbers for sockeye, chum, and pink salmon have varied widely over the same time period.
For some reason, many of these anadromous fish — those that spawn in fresh water and spend most of their lives at sea — are not doing well in saltwater, particularly in the inland waters of Western Washington.
The Snohomish and Skagit river systems have been hit particularly hard, Crewson said.
While there’s a solid understanding of the factors affecting salmon survival in fresh water, according to Long Live the Kings, the issues in the marine environment are more complex.
From what is known so far, the survival problem has been traced to a combination of factors. Pollution, climate change, loss of habitat and increased consumption of salmon by seals and sea lions are all playing a part, Tulalip tribal officials have said.
Tribes and government agencies have been collecting information on their own, but it hasn’t yet been put together into context, Crewson said.
That will be one benefit of the new study — synthesizing the work done so far, he said. More research will be done as well.
The Tulalips, for example, have two smolt traps they use to catch young fish to track their progress and survival rates. The tribe already spends about $500,000 per year on fish survival programs and will increase their sampling efforts as part of this study, Crewson said.
Other studies more focused on certain areas, such as a joint effort between the Tulalips and the Nisqually tribe focusing on the Snohomish and Nisqually river systems, will be folded into the larger effort, Crewson said.
“The survival’s especially poor in Puget Sound (as opposed to the open ocean),” he said. “We’re trying to figure out what’s different in Puget Sound.”
The state recently appropriated nearly $800,000 toward the new study. The Pacific Salmon Foundation, a Canadian group, has raised $750,000 to support project activities north of the border. That group is serving as the organizer for efforts there, as is Long Live the Kings on the American side.
The Pacific Salmon Commission, a joint Canadian-American organization formed to implement treaty agreements, is putting in $175,000.
The rest of the money will be raised as the study progresses, officials said. A report and action plan is expected after five years.
Facility upgrades raise the survival rate
By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News
Tulalip−Though marauding sea lions have been a constant nuisance to hatchery operations, it is now apparent they stand to threaten the success of hatchery runs as they have become more aggressive, pushing further upstream into holding areas for returning salmon. Through a series of upgrades to the facilities at the Bernie ‘Kai Kai’ Gobin Hatchery at Tulalip, changes are being made to optimize salmon returns.
Newly built sea lion fences at Battle Creek and below the hatchery dam and fish ladder prevent sea lions from going up stream, while allowing salmon to pass through.
“At low tide, the sea lions are belly-crawling up Battle Creek and taking females out of the holding area,” said Jesse Rude, hatchery assistant manager. “We can’t have a shortage of eggs, otherwise we have no fish to hatch.” Rude further noted that, “these fences are first of their kind. No other system like it is known to be used, or in existence.”
At the damn, a small pond with a barricade of rocks sits below the fish ladder, behind the new fence. This allows the salmon to get behind the fence where they are protected, while keeping the salmon from going upstream too early; another new technique the hatchery is trying. “Incidentally, this is good for the fishermen too, keeps the fish out in the bay to be caught,” noted Rude.
At the top of the ladder, a mechanized holding pen and fish lift are installed. The lift looks similar to a car elevator from a parking garage, and can lift comparable weight loads. This allows the salmon to be pulled out and processed more quickly than pitching fish by hand.
The last major upgrades were the installation of birdnetting, to keep birds from getting an easy meal in the lower ponds and creeks, and the new larger pond at the hatchery.
“With the larger pond, we are able to do a lot more Chinook,” said Rude, referring to larger quantities of eggs, and later smolt, that the pond can hold relative to the area needed to have a productive salmon hatch.
“Last year we hatched 1.5 million Coho, and we released a record 1.3 million fish.” Typically, the rate of survival is 50% to 60%; meaning only half of what is hatched actually gets released.
Ironically, the upgrades from 2005 and 2006 led to the record-breaking release of Coho. The snow built up on the birdnetting, breaking the nets and dragging the support posts, and the Jersey barriers that anchored them, into the fish ponds.
“We had to move all of the fish up to the new larger pond,” Rude explained. As a result, the Coho run was over-wintered, meaning they were more mature than normal when released.
They were free of predation back up in the pond as well. Rude said, “the otters are like rats in the ponds. They are everywhere and they eat the fish. The last couple of years we’ve had to hire predator control to manage the otters.”
When asked about the success of over-wintering and potential continuation, Rude said they would be trying similar methods with all of their runs this year.
Other upgrades include expanded feed and storage facilities, covered or shaded ponds, a concrete fish weir put in at Battle Creek, and expanding and repairing the birdnetting for all hatchery creeks and ponds.
Bill Sheets, The Herald
EVERETT — Every odd-numbered year, visitors to local shorelines in late summer are often struck by the sight of an extraordinary number of small boats on the water.
They might also see people standing along the beach with fishing poles in their hands.
“Everyone hears the word ‘pink’ and they just want to come out and join the rat race,” fisherman Nigel Anders of Arlington said as he launched his boat in Mukilteo recently.
While some species of salmon and trout are struggling to survive — Puget Sound chinook and steelhead are both listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act — pink salmon and other species are thriving or holding steady.
Every major species of Pacific salmon and trout can still be found in Snohomish County waters — chinook, coho, chum, pink and sockeye salmon, along with rainbow and cutthroat trout. A species of char, called a bull trout, is found here as well.
There’s also a large sturgeon population that visits Port Susan, near Stanwood, according to state fish biologists.
These fish are all anadromous, meaning they travel into streams to spawn, and spend the bulk of their lives in saltwater. The salmon, trout and char are part of the salmonid family.
“We have a lot of fish here and a lot of water,” said Justin Spinelli, a biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Each river, stream and lake has its own unique, colorful mix of fish. The Snohomish River, for example, is home to one of the largest coho populations on the West Coast, generally exceeded only by the Skagit River and the Columbia, said Mike Crewson, fisheries enhancement biologist for the Tulalip Tribes.
Sockeye salmon — a small, tasty variety — are best known in this area for their large runs in Lake Washington and its tributaries, some of which reach into Snohomish County. Baker Lake in the North Cascades has a large population, as well. But sockeye also are found, at least in small numbers, in most other local rivers, biologists say. A large population of landlocked sockeye, or kokanee, swim in Lake Stevens.
Sockeye turn bright red before spawning, earning them the nickname “red salmon.” Coho salmon are known as “silvers” for their clean, shiny look. Rainbow trout are aptly named, with their scales reflecting a multi-colored hue. Cutthroat trout are named for a red strip that runs along the underside of their heads behind their mouths.
Pink salmon are named for the color of their flesh. The smallest of the Pacific salmon, they’re also called “humpies” because their backs develop a prominent hump before spawning.
What pinks lack in size or flavor compared to other salmon species, they make up in numbers. More than 6 million humpies are forecast to return to rivers in the Puget Sound region this year. That’s well shy of the record of 9.8 million pinks set in 2009, but this year’s run is still on the high side, state wildlife officials say. State records go back to 1959.
Of those expected back this year, nearly 1 million pinks are forecast to head for the Snohomish River to spawn and 400,000 more are forecast to return to the Stillaguamish River. About 1.2 million are expected in the Skagit River
Pinks can be caught both in saltwater and in the rivers. Saltwater and the Snohomish River are open to pink salmon fishing now. The season opens in the Stillaguamish and remaining areas on Sept. 1.
Humpies have a shorter life cycle than other salmon, returning to spawn after two years. While most return in odd-numbered years, some do return in even-numbered, “off” years, Crewson said.
Pinks currently have a combination of advantages working for them over other salmon species, biologists say.
They can spawn in more places, do it more quickly, head straight for saltwater after hatching and spend less time there once they arrive.
This makes them less susceptible to the habitat destruction and changing ocean conditions that can push down survival rates of other species.
Humpies can spawn in the tiniest of streams, Crewson said.
“Pinks can go up anything that’s flowing,” he said.
Juvenile chinook and coho stay in fresh water and grow for up to a year and a half after they’re hatched before heading to sea. Pinks head out in a matter of days, biologists say. That helps pinks avoid the ravages of urban runoff, which can scour and pollute salmon-bearing streams.
In saltwater, the issues are more complex, but survival rates there have been on the decline, biologists say.
Fish depend on upwelling of plankton from the lower reaches of inland waters and the ocean. These organisms form the base of the food chain for salmon and trout.
These upwelling patterns have become more erratic, especially in the Puget Sound basin, biologists say, creating more of a hit-and-miss proposition for the fish.
The causes haven’t been nailed down, but climate change is believed to play a part, Crewson said. More rain and less snow falls in the mountains, creating more flooding. This can affect upwelling along with habitat, he said.
“Changes in stream-flow patterns can alter when plankton blooms happen and when fish go out,” Crewson said
Pink salmon have been hitting the plankton blooms better lately than the other fish, he said.
“An early outmigrating salmon has got an advantage,” Crewson said.
El Nino conditions, in which warmer water moves northward from the central Pacific, also can throw food chains out of whack, he said.
Seals and sea lions also are suspects in falling survival rates for salmon. Populations of the fish-eating mammals have been increasing in the Puget Sound area in recent years.
Trout, like larger salmon, require longer rearing periods in fresh water. Puget Sound-area steelhead — rainbow trout that go to sea — have been having trouble getting there, biologists say.
Some have been planted with electronic tags and can be counted when they run across any of several electronic beams sent across the water along Admiralty Inlet and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Many are disappearing before they get to these points, biologists say. That means the steelhead aren’t heading out to the Pacific Ocean.
“There’s something drastically wrong when you lose that many fish,” Crewson said. “Our steelhead numbers (in the Snohomish basin) have been way down.”
The other primary trout species in the area, cutthroats, are holding steady, said Brett Barkdull, a state fish biologist based in La Conner.
Some of these trout stay in rivers, while those that venture into saltwater, known as sea-run cutthroat, don’t go as far afield as steelhead, Barkdull said. They tend to stay in bays and estuaries.
The sea-run cutthroats, while smaller than steelhead, are prized by many serious anglers for their fighting ability. They once were overfished, Barkdull said. In 1990, strict limits were placed on their harvest. Those regulations have helped the fish recover, but still in many areas now they are allowed to be caught but not kept, or may be kept only if they’re above a certain size.
Because of those rules, cutthroat trout tend to be overlooked by casual anglers, said John Martinis, owner of John’s Sporting Goods on Broadway in Everett.
“They’re a very, very popular fish among the fly fishermen,” he said.
Fish populations in the Skagit River are generally healthier than in the rivers in Snohomish County and others in urbanized Puget Sound, Barkdull said.
Many of the Skagit’s upstream waters are in North Cascades National Park or national forest land, he noted.
“I think part of that has to do with the fact that a lot of the rearing habitat is protected,” he said.
In general, numbers for all the fish in the Puget Sound region are down from historic levels, Crewson said. Some, like the pinks, are bouncing back, and that’s good news for people who like to fish.
“It’s one of those opportunities where novice anglers as well as experienced anglers can do really, really well,” Martinis said.
Learn more
For more information, visit the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s information page on salmon and trout at http://tinyurl.com/ozu787a.
By Monica Brown, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Think of the Puget Sound as one massive estuary, fresh water from the creeks, streams and rivers of the uplands flow into the sound and mix during every tide with seawater from the Pacific Ocean. It’s the perfect recipe for salmon rearing habitat. Then add industry, boat traffic, shoreline development, acid rain and a cocktail of other chemicals. Suddenly, the perfect salmon nursery has become a precarious, dangerous and sometimes deadly environment.
Today, in the Puget Sound, about half of historic estuary land remains. Urban areas such as Seattle and Tacoma have lost nearly all of their estuaries, but cities are not the only places losing this vital habitat; according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, only about a quarter of the Skagit Bay Estuary remains. Our own home, the Snohomish River watershed, which produces between 25-50% of the Coho salmon in Puget Sound, retains only 17% of its historical estuarial land. With the loss of estuaries and pollution on the rise it’s not a mystery why salmon runs and coastal wildlife are diminishing with every passing year.
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water, (a mix of seawater and fresh water), with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it that also has a connection to the open sea. The Puget Sound is essentially a huge estuary. It’s the second largest in the U.S., Chesapeake Bay, located on the east coast, is the largest. Brackish waters are where young salmon go to feed, grow and make the transition to the salt water; they’re also an ideal place to hide from both freshwater and saltwater predators. Without suitable estuaries, many young salmon don’t survive long enough to make the journey to the ocean.
Enter Qwuloolt, an estuary located within the Snohomish watershed just south of Marysville. The name, Qwuloolt, is a Lushootseed word meaning “salt marsh.” Because of its rich delta soil, early settlers diked, drained and began using the land for cattle and farming. The levees they established along Ebey Slough, as well as the drainage channels and tide gates, significantly degraded the estuary by preventing the salt water from Puget Sound from mixing with the fresh water from Jones and Allen Creeks.
Luckily, levees can be breached and streams rechanneled. In 1994 Tulalip and a number of national and local partners teamed up to begin the second largest estuary restoration in the Puget Sound. In 2000, Tulalip, along with a group of trustees (NOAA, USFW, NRCS and the Washington State Department of Ecology) began purchasing 400 acres of historic estuary between Ebey Slough and Sunnyside Blvd.
In the years that followed, fish and wetlands biologists, hydrologists and experts in salmon recovery have helped reshape the once vibrant estuary turned farmland. Using historic information about the area, they’ve re-contoured the land to create more natural stream flows and removed invasive species. The final step in rehabilitating the habitat is to break through the earthen dikes and levees and allow the tides to once again mix fresh and salt water, to resurrect an estuary that provides shelter and sustenance for fish, wildlife and people.
Qwuloolt will not only help salmon and wildlife habitat, the restoration protects every resident of the Puget Sound. Estuaries store flood waters and protect inland areas. The plants, microorganisms and soils of the estuary filter water and remove pollutants as well as capture and store carbons for long periods of time.
Qwuloolt is:
Physical stream restoration is a complex part of the project, which actually reroutes 1.5 miles of Jones and Allen creek channels. Scientists used historical and field analyses and aerial photographs to move the creek beds near their historic locations.
Native plants and vegetation that once inhabited the area such as; various grasses, sedges, bulrush, cattails, willow, rose, Sitka spruce, pine, fir, crab apple and alder are replacing non-native invasive species.
Building in stormwater protection consists of creating a 6 ½ acre water runoff storage basin that will be used to manage stormwater runoff from the nearby suburban developments to prevent erosion and filter out pollutants so they don’t flow out of the estuary.
Construction of a setback levee has nearly finished and spans 4,000 feet on the western edge on Qwuloolt. The levee was constructed to protect the adjacent private and commercial property from water overflow once the levee is breached.
Breaching of the existing levee that is located in the south edge of the estuary will begin after the setback reaches construction. The breaching of the levee will allow the saline and fresh water to mix within the 400-acre marsh.
Other estuary restoration projects within the Snohomish River Watershed include; Ebey Slough at 14 acres, 400 acres of Union Slough/Smith Island and 60 acres of Spencer Island. The Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project has been a large collaboration between The Tulalip Tribes, local, county, state and federal agencies, private individuals and organizations.
By Wayne Kruse, The Herald
It’s time to start thinking pink.
For many seasoned anglers, Aug. 10 is the rule-of-thumb start to the odd-year pink salmon fishery in local saltwater. That means this weekend could see solid catch rates — instead of just a scattering of “humpies” — at Possession Bar and the stretch of shoreline between Mukilteo and the “shipwreck” known as Humpy Hollow.
River fishing will take longer to develop, particularly in this summer of very low, warm stream flows. But make no mistake, there’s a horde of humpies on the way. State Fish and Wildlife Department salmon managers expect upwards of 6 million pinks to enter Puget Sound, and another 6 million Fraser River fish to be available to Washington anglers in the San Juan Islands.
Predictions are for 1.25 million pinks to return to the Skagit River; 1 million to the Snohomish/Skykomish; 1.25 million to the Puyallup; and 1.3 million to the Green. And even though humpies are smallish and a couple of notches down the list of top table salmon, a million-plus fish off Mukilteo and in the Snohomish River will bring recreational fishermen out of the woodwork. Lots of fish, lots of fishing, lots of fun.
As of early this week, humpy reports were as follows:
n Skagit River: The Skagit pink run is usually a little earlier than that in the Snohomish system, and this summer seems to be following the script. The Skagit opened Aug. 1 up to Gilligan Creek, and good fishing was the rule in the lower end. Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington said plunkers in the Mount Vernon area scored well fishing off the bars with red or pink Spin N Glos and shrimp.
“It was pretty decent,” John said. “There were actually more fish in the river early than we had expected.”
Young’s Bar at Mount Vernon bristled with plunking rods, as did the forks area and the “trestle” in Burlington. John said techniques changed farther upriver, to trolling spoons above Burlington and working jigs above Sedro-Woolley.
John said the third week of August is usually the peak for pink fishing in the Skagit, but that it may be a little earlier this year. He said the westside Whidbey Island beaches are putting out humpies consistently now to shore casters, including Fort Casey, Bush and Lagoon points, and North Beach at Deception Pass. Those folks are tossing Buzz Bombs and Rotators in pinks and greens, John said, concentrating on low slack and the first portion of the incoming tide.
n Snohomish River: The Sno opened Aug. 1 below Highway 9 to so-so results, said John Martinis at John’s Sporting Goods in north Everett. “I expect the river fishing to gradually improve, with the last week of August being the usual peak,” Martinis said.
He likes jig fishing for humpies in the lower Snohomish. Drift and cast quarter-ounce pink jigs to rolling fish or, better yet, anchor above a pod of fish showing well and fish jigs down to them. Try to get a feel for where the bottom is, he said, because the fish generally will be about a foot off the bottom.
“The Snohomish can be a little ‘grabby,'” he said, “so I suggest to customers they try the Danielson jigs. If you buy them in packages, they’re something like nine cents or 10 cents each, and you’re set for the whole day.”
The morning incoming tide is the best time to hit the lower Snohomish, and there are spots to fish from Lowell Rotary Park all the way up to Snohomish, on both sides of the river.
n Local saltwater: “The run is building,” said Mike Chamberlain of Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood. “A lot of guys fishing last weekend in Humpy Hollow hit two or three fish per boat. Limits? Not yet, but it won’t be long.”
He agreed that the westside Whidbey beaches are a good bet, casting 2- or 21/2-inch Buzz Bombs or Rotators in “pink, pink, and more pink.” Prime time, he says, is the last hour of the incoming tide through high slack and the first two hours of the ebb.
In saltwater, rig with a size “0” white dodger, 8-inch Coyote Flasher, or Gibbs white flasher; a 25-pound test leader two times the length of the dodger or 11/2 times the length of the flasher; and a pink mini-squid on either a single 3/0 hook or a double 2/0, tied close together. The trolling speed should be very slow, Chamberlain said, so your flasher/dodger swings side to side instead of rotating.
Early in the day, start at 30 feet, later dropping to 70 feet or deeper.
Humpy derby
Pink salmon have their own event with the debut this summer of the Bad Draw Humpy Showdown Derby, Aug. 24, rain or shine, in any water, fresh or salt, legally open to pink salmon fishing. The event is a fund-raiser for the Bad Draw Wrestling Club of Snohomish County and proceeds benefit youth sports.
The entry fee is $25 adult (13 and over), and $15 youth (12 and under), with tickets available at Doug’s Boats, Woodinville; Holiday Sports, Burlington; Greg’s Custom Rods, Lake Stevens; McDaniel’s, Snohomish; Harbor Marine, Bayside Marine, John’s Sporting Goods and Precision Machine, all of Everett; Sky Valley Traders, Monroe; Ted’s Sporting Goods and Ed’s Surplus, both in Lynnwood; Triangle Beverage, Snohomish; Three Rivers Marine, Woodinville; Anglers Choice, Shoreline; The Coffee Box, Sultan; and Outdoor Emporium, Seattle.
The largest pink wins $2,500 (adult) or $500 (youth), and the grand prize draw will award a Lavro drift boat, fully equipped, with trailer — an $8,500 package.
For more information,visit www.baddrawwrestling.com or call Adam Aney at 425-231-1301.
Buoy 10
The popular chinook/coho fishery on the bottom end of the Columbia River opened Aug 1, and the success rate has increased slowly from that point. The latest creel sampling, on Aug. 4, showed 155 anglers in 52 boats, with 15 kings and 13 coho. The fishery will be working on the largest run of “upriver bright” fall chinook in nearly a half-century, according to state biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver. Those fish also will provide a top recreational fishery later this year in the Hanford Reach portion of the Columbia, above the Tri-Cities.
For more outdoors news, read Wayne Kruse’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
Diana Hefley, The Herald
EVERETT — An undercover operation in Snohomish County by state fish and wildlife agents has netted two men with suspected ties to an international fish-poaching ring.
The men are accused of illegally selling caviar, steelhead and salmon. One of the men admitted to illegally “snagging” at least 100 pounds of steelhead, prosecutors said. The men were charged on Tuesday with unlawful trafficking of fish, a felony.
“It’s bad enough when they’re stealing by harvesting illegally. They’ve added to the egregiousness by then making a profit,” said Mike Cenci, a marine patrol captain with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Agents say the men are believed to be connected to a fish-poaching ring that was operating out of several other states. Earlier this year, eight men were indicted in Missouri on federal charges for poaching and trafficking in American paddlefish and their eggs. More than 100 other people were arrested or cited for their part in illegally selling Missouri paddlefish to national and international caviar markets.
American paddlefish, also known as spoonbills, are native to the Mississippi River watershed. The prehistoric fish can live for decades, weigh up 160 pounds and reach seven feet long. Criminals sell eggs from the boneless fish as higher-quality caviar.
“Paddlefish are often sold under the guise of sturgeon,” Cenci said.
With a decline in the highly-sought-after and expensive sturgeon roe, paddlefish eggs have gained popularity. The increase in demand has led to a decline in the paddlefish population, according to federal fish and wildlife agents. Chinese paddlefish, once plentiful in the Yangtze River, are believed to be almost extinct.
Authorities allege that Igor Stepchuk, 38, of Lynnwood, sold an undercover agent five jars of American paddlefish eggs for $500. He also is accused of illegally selling steelhead, and coho and chinook salmon.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife began investigating Stepchuk after receiving a tip in 2011 that he was trafficking illegal caviar. The agent met with Stepchuk numerous times. His friend Oleg Morozov, of Kent, also is accused of trafficking fish.
Stepchuk, a convicted felon, eventually offered to sell the agent steelhead, court papers said. He reportedly told the agent he had poached about 100 pounds of steelhead. It isn’t clear where he caught them. He reportedly showed the agent a freezer full of fish.
Non-tribal fishermen are banned from selling steelhead. Commercial and recreational salmon fishing also is heavily regulated.
Cenci said it’s also illegal to catch fish by snagging, which often means dragging a hook through the water and impaling the fish, rather than waiting for a fish to bite.
“It’s offensive to sportsmen and sportswomen. It’s a matter of ethics,” Cenci said.
The defendants reportedly went on to sell the undercover agent more than a dozen jars of caviar and more steelhead. In total, the men charged the agent more than $4,500 for the fish and eggs.
Detectives sent samples of the caviar and fish to the department’s molecular genetics laboratory to confirm the species. The lab is used primarily to help manage wildlife and fish resources, but enforcement agents use the facility to assist with criminal investigations. DNA testing was done, and the samples were consistent with steelhead and chinook and coho salmon, court records said.
“That kind of activity has a great impact when you’re dealing with endangered salmon runs,” Cenci said.
Bob Heirman, conservationist and longtime secretary-treasurer for the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club, has been planting salmon and trout in Snohomish County for decades.
Poachers are “robbing resources while some people are trying to recover them,” Heirman said.
Stepchuk and Morozov are expected to answer to the charges later this month in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Unfortunately, the state’s fish and wildlife species often find their way to illegal national and international markets, Cenci said. “We’ve seen everything poached from roe to bear gallbladders,” he said.
He encourages seafood eaters to make sure they are buying from licensed and legitimate sellers. “If there aren’t people willing to buy (illegal products) the incentive to poach for profit goes away,” Cenci said.
