Presentation Abstract
Cowling Creek is the largest watershed on the Port Madison Indian Reservation. The Reservation is located on the west side of Puget Sound across from Seattle, and is where Chief Sealth (Seattle) is buried. The Wild Fish Conservancy identified 5.46 miles of the 12.22 Cowling Creek stream miles as fish bearing in 2009. Intertidal culverts installed 75 years ago were 100% barriers and eliminated all historic coho, steelhead, sea run cutthroat, chum salmon and other fish populations. The culverts blocked safe wildlife access to the estuary. Additional older and newer culverts throughout the watershed further fragmented habitat accessibility for fish and wildlife. The Suquamish Tribe welcomed assistance from the Friends of Miller Bay, North Kitsap/Bainbridge Island Trout Unlimited, the Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group, the Great Peninsula Conservancy, schools, landowners, and local government programs to protect remaining high quality habitat, undertake restoration projects, begin to remove barrier culverts, implement small scale, local research and monitoring efforts, and begin a salmon reintroduction/public education and outreach program in 2008. A temporary 22-step fish ladder was installed through one intertidal culvert in 2013, allowing 1,251 returning adult chum salmon access to the lower stream to spawn naturally. Local citizen scientists of all ages witnessed not only the return of the salmon but the food web renewed with the attention of black bear, eagle, river otter, coyote, and other wildlife quickly focused upon the stream.
Session Title
Session S-09D: Salmon Recovery: Implementation and Progress II
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2-5-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
2-5-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 611-612
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Salmon--Reintroduction--Washington (State)--Port Madison Indian Reservation; Salmon--Habitat--Washington (State)--Port Madison Indian Reservation; Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation, Washington; Natural resources--Co-management--Washington (State)--Port Madison Indian Reservation
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Port Madison Indian Reservation (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
The Role of Citizen Science in Restoring Salmon and Salmon Habitat to the Suquamish Tribe's Port Madison Indian Reservation's Cowling Creek Watershed
Room 611-612
Cowling Creek is the largest watershed on the Port Madison Indian Reservation. The Reservation is located on the west side of Puget Sound across from Seattle, and is where Chief Sealth (Seattle) is buried. The Wild Fish Conservancy identified 5.46 miles of the 12.22 Cowling Creek stream miles as fish bearing in 2009. Intertidal culverts installed 75 years ago were 100% barriers and eliminated all historic coho, steelhead, sea run cutthroat, chum salmon and other fish populations. The culverts blocked safe wildlife access to the estuary. Additional older and newer culverts throughout the watershed further fragmented habitat accessibility for fish and wildlife. The Suquamish Tribe welcomed assistance from the Friends of Miller Bay, North Kitsap/Bainbridge Island Trout Unlimited, the Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group, the Great Peninsula Conservancy, schools, landowners, and local government programs to protect remaining high quality habitat, undertake restoration projects, begin to remove barrier culverts, implement small scale, local research and monitoring efforts, and begin a salmon reintroduction/public education and outreach program in 2008. A temporary 22-step fish ladder was installed through one intertidal culvert in 2013, allowing 1,251 returning adult chum salmon access to the lower stream to spawn naturally. Local citizen scientists of all ages witnessed not only the return of the salmon but the food web renewed with the attention of black bear, eagle, river otter, coyote, and other wildlife quickly focused upon the stream.
