WRIA8 Cedar/Sammamish Watershed Salmon Recovery News

Salmon are once again returning to streams and rivers around Puget Sound. In this tenth year of Salmon SEEson, many of our partners are already reporting fish sightings, including Chinook returning to Issaquah Creek in mid-September, sockeye near KIS Farm in Bear Creek in early October, and both Chinook and sockeye spawning at the Cedar River Salmon Journey sites, with lots of fish visible at Cedar River Park in particular. Read more…

Bear Creek Watershed-Scale Stormwater Plan

A Watershed-Scale Stormwater Plan is currently being developed for the Bear Creek Basin in the Greater Lake Washington (WRIA 8). The goal of this Project is to produce a watershed plan that outlines actions and strategies that will restore Bear Creek to existing and designated uses, so that it provides healthy habitat for Chinook salmon and other aquatic species.  Link to plan website…

The steady decline of salmon runs to Lake Washington | Part I

Salmon runs used to be a prominent feature of Lake Washington and Puget Sound, but their numbers have dramatically declined following decades of shoreline development, contamination and increasing wetland urbanization, prompting ecology experts to galvanize governments and private landowners to try and carve out a place for salmon in the rapidly developing greater Seattle area. Read article by Aaron Kunkler

The steady decline of salmon runs in Lake Washington | Part II

Elizabeth Mooney is a Kenmore biologist involved with the grassroots environmental group People for an Environmentally Responsible Kenmore.

She is concerned with waterfront development the city of Kenmore is proposing, namely developing the Swamp Creek area, which also houses Squire’s Landing park. What worries her most is the plans to develop a gravel or sand beach at Log Boom Park, and how all these developments will affect already fledgling salmon populations in the Sammamish River and north Lake Washington. Read article by Aaron Kunkler