Squaxin Island Tribe's Natural Resources

The Squaxin Island Tribe in cooperation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife released about 100,000 coho fry in the upper Deschutes yesterday.   The purpose was not necessarily to increase the number of smolts leaving the system next year, but to identify key locations where the fry rear over the summer.  The information will be used to prioritize habitat protection and restoration actions.  The last time such a study was reported was in 1987, and the river has changed considerably since then.

Coho Fry Release

Each month Squaxin NR staff takes samples of coho from the net pens to monitor growth progress and fish pathology.   We select pens that are representative of the stocks we have and then seine a random sample of these pens.

All photos above taken by Sarah Zaniewski

The sample is weighed and one hundred of them are measured.   Eight fish are taken from this sample as lethal samples to be looked at by Northwest Indian Fish Commission Fish Pathologists.

Squaxin Island Tribe is entering the thirteenth year of monitoring downstream outmigration of Oncorhynchus kisutch smolts (coho salmon smolts) by using weirs, rotary screw traps and mark/recapture methodology.   The enumeration  data of outmigrating smolts is used to estimate natural coho salmon production and for forecasting returning adults for South Puget Sound.

Squaxin will install weir panel traps on Mill, Cranberry, and Skookum Creeks at a site below observed coho spawning locations thus, capturing all outmigrating smolts.  Also a rotary screw trap will be installed in Goldsborough Creek  to be used in standard mark/recapture methodology.  Outmigrating coho salmon smolts will be captured, enumerated and lengths measured.  Other species such as chum fry, cutthroat, rainbow trout, and sculpin are also seen in the trap.

The Supreme Court upheld an important Thurston Superior Court decision yesterday.  The court majority decided that new subdivisions must secure water supplies during the planning stages–that step to determine water adequacy cannot wait until houses are actually built.

This ruling makes logical sense.  It eliminates the possibility that developers might make significant upfront investments and suddenly find when it comes time to actually build houses, that no water is available.   The early timing of the determination eliminates potential conflicts between multiple water users, and between water users and instream flows.

The ruling will serve as a powerful new tool to protect our water resources from further over-appropriation.  This is especially true when this ruling is coupled with another recent decision from Kittitas County.  In that latter case, the Supreme Court ruled that securing a water supply involves more than determining how productive a well is.   The evaluation must also include a legal determination that senior water rights will not be impaired.

In sum:  when planning a subdivision, an early decision that water is legally available must be made.  The early and legal nature of the decision will protect both the financial investments of the developers and senior water rights including instream flows.

The decision in Knight v. City of Yelm can be found here.

The Kittitas decision can be found here (pdf file).

Here is a video featuring the speakers at the Budd/Deschutes Environmental Stewardship Coalition signing ceremony earlier this week.

UPDATE:  Lacey City Council unanimously passed a resolution to sign the MOU last night.  That means all have agreed and the signing ceremony on Nov. 29th is on.

The Olympia City Council voted unanimously to approve signing the MOU forming the Budd/Deschutes Environmental Stewardship Coalition tonight.  The City of Yelm and the Squaxin Island Tribal Council unanimously voted in favor last week.  If the City of Lacey approves the MOU this Thursday, there will be a signing ceremony at the Squaxin Museum on Nov. 29th at 3:30pm.

Here’s the video from that portion of last night’s meeting.

A couple of people have inquired about how the new coalition between the cities and tribe will address Capitol Lake issues. Well, the short answer is it won’t — at least not in the near future.

The fate of Capital Lake is an issue much larger than the coalition. The coalition has been set up to get things done, not plan or debate. We are focused on funding and taking priority actions in the watershed where the implementation can begin immediately–like the mouth of Lake Lawrence which the Ecology TMDL technical report identified as a hot spot for summer water temperatures and the Cities of Olympia, Lacey and Yelm have purchased for mitigation and restoration. Once the fate of Capitol Lake is clear, the coalition will evaluate if and how it can contribute.

While no government policy positions have changed as a result of the formation of the coalition, it is important to remember that the science still says that fixing the environmental issues in the upper watershed will not fix the problems in Capitol Lake!

King 5: Farm deal clears Olympia water jam

On-the-ground habitat restoration projects will be the focus of a new coalition to jumpstart salmon productivity in the Deschutes River watershed.  The Squaxin Island Tribe and the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Yelm are establishing the Deschutes Watershed Environmental Stewardship Coalition.

“The Deschutes coalition will be an ongoing alliance to fund and conduct on-the-ground projects to restore a healthy watershed,” said Andy Whitener, natural resources director for the tribe.  “The coalition will put words into actions and start restoring productivity to the Deschutes River.”

Initial projects are slated for the 197-acre farm on the Deschutes River near Lake Lawrence that the cities recently purchased as part of mitigation for their new water rights.

Smith Farm near Lake Lawrence

In the past, the Deschutes River was the largest producer of coho salmon in deep South Sound.  A landslide in 1990 destroyed the most productive coho tributary in the watershed.  “The impact of that landslide is still being felt throughout the watershed,” said John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the tribe.  “But we know the Deschutes can be a productive salmon stream again.”

“Thirty years ago, we were seeing coho returns in the tens of thousands, now we’re talking about coho runs in the hundreds,” said Jeff Dickison, assistant natural resources director.  “We need to get our hands dirty now to improve coho habitat and bring back stronger runs.”

Because the upper Deschutes River is relatively undeveloped – less than 10 percent has been converted to impervious surface – its still possible to restore salmon habitat and productivity.  “If we restore some habitat and give these fish half a chance, they’ll recover,” Dickison said.

“The tribe’s treaty rights, economy and way of life are meaningless if we aren’t able to harvest salmon,” Whitener said.  “Protecting and restoring salmon habitat is the most important thing we can do to restore coho and protect our treaty right to fish.”