Boots on the ground: Restoring habitat through partnerships in Bellingham

On Earth Day 2019, Washington Conservation Corps is thrilled to highlight nearly two decades of close partnership with City of Bellingham. The City began sponsoring WCC field crews after the tragic 1999 Olympic Pipe Line explosion in Whatcom Creek. Our AmeriCorps members’ activities along Whatcom County’s rivers and streams have helped restore more than 160 acres of critical habitat on 70 properties throughout the City and Lake Whatcom watershed. Our members serving with City of Bellingham are continuing to improve habitat along these riparian corridors to help restore local salmon runs that have suffered due to increased urbanization.

Donning waders and counting fish

WCC AmeriCorps members record smolt trap data.
Photo contributed by Paul Argites and Nick Saling.

Sometimes, a day of service on these crews means donning hip waders and counting fish! Recently, AmeriCorps members helped build the City’s first smolt trap in Padden Creek. Smolt are juvenile salmon getting ready to migrate from fresh water to the ocean. Smolt traps temporarily and safely trap any fish migrating through a water passage. Our members learned the ins and outs of smolt trap construction, and continue to help monitor these traps. In Spring 2018, members recorded more than 3,689 juvenile fish in the Padden Creek trap in a single day! 

Evaluating how fish are using a creek after habitat enhancement plays an important role in efforts to recover salmon.  “This documentation benefits these species by informing future restoration designs as well as providing data to support funding future enhancement projects,” said Sara Brooke Benjamin, coordinator for Bellingham’s environmental monitoring program.

Daylighting Padden Creek

Our members installed more than 15,000
native plants as part of the Padden Creek
Daylight project. Photo by WCC/Ecology.

The smolt trap in Padden Creek help researchers learn about the effectiveness of the Padden Creek “daylighting” project. City of Bellingham re-routed a large section of the creek that had flowed through a concrete tunnel since the 1890s. The City constructed a nearly mile-long creek channel to replace the tunnel. Members kicked off the planting phase of the project, installing more than 15,000 native plants and ensuring freshly installed plants survived their first spring. The project has helped restore fish passage, improve water quality, and reduce flood risks for nearby residents.

WCC crews also conducted surveys for spawning salmon and their nests, called “redds.” During spring 2016, crew members walked about two miles of Padden Creek, searching for salmon and redds and recording data. Those surveys revealed that chum salmon can now access and are spawning in parts of the creek previously inaccessible to them!

Engaging the community

In addition to the restoration activities, community engagement plays an important role in project success. “The crews facilitated greater community understanding and participation by helping host three community work parties along our City streams,” said Analiese Burns, habitat restoration manager for City of Bellingham. “These crew members have contributed to our quality of life and in return, they leave with the skills necessary to continue their career of service.”

Watch a smolt trap in action

Visit City of Bellingham’s website to watch a short video on how smolt traps work, and visit Ecology's website to learn more about riparian restoration efforts in Whatcom County and statewide.

This could be your office! WCC AmeriCorps members serving in Skagit County
take a lunch break. Photo contributed by Josh Boswell.

Join WCC

We are currently accepting applications for 3-month member positions! Learn more and apply on our website. Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 and military veterans. WCC consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps.

Understanding the environmental impacts of more water over the dam

Ecology to consider allowing more water to spill over dams to help salmon migrate.

Spring spill season for dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers is approaching. During this time, generally from April through June, large amounts of runoff from the melting snowpack lead to high water flows. When hydropower operations cannot pass all of the water through turbines or store it, water is spilled over the dams through spill gates. Spill is used to manage incoming water and to help move juvenile salmon past dams, downstream towards the ocean. During this time, upwards of 100 million juvenile salmon migrate down the Columbia River.

This action would apply to eight dams on the lower 

Columbia and Snake rivers.

Juvenile Chinook, photo credit: Amy Hansen, USGS

Responding to the need for more salmon

Ecology, in support of the new agreement for flexible spill operations at four lower Columbia and four lower Snake River dams, is proposing a short-term modification that would allow more water to spill over the dams, with the goal of improving the survival of juvenile salmon migrating to the ocean. Under the flexible spill agreement, the increased spill would happen during hours of relatively low energy demand, balancing salmon survival rates while managing power costs.

The short-term modification would apply to state Water Quality Standards, specifically the Total Dissolved Gas criteria. When water is released from spill gates at the top of the dam, the plunging water can trap air (mostly nitrogen and oxygen gas) in the water. This could pose a threat to aquatic organisms, such as the adult salmon who are migrating back upstream and resident fish including white sturgeon or mountain whitefish. In this situation, fish are susceptible to ‘gas bubble trauma’ or what you could call giving fish ‘the bends’, if you are familiar with the scuba diving term. 

Currently, the total dissolved gas criteria is 110% for Washington State. There is a special condition to aid fish passage past dams during the spill season for the Columbia and Snake rivers, allowing total dissolved gas levels of 115% in the forebay, 120% in the tailrace of dams, and a maximum one-hour average of 125%. Spilling water over dams is recognized as one of the best ways to protect fish as they move past dams. 

The Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and a coalition of Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Save Our Wild Salmon have requested Ecology remove the 115% forebay criterion for total dissolved gas for the 2019 spring spill season and maintain the 120% tailrace criterion in the Columbia and Snake rivers. The purpose for removing the 115% forebay criterion is to test the benefits of more spill on fish passage by allowing higher total dissolved gas levels. This would align with the flexible spill operations agreement.

Fish passage system for a dam, graphic courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Our Proposal 

The goal of the short-term modification is to understand if allowing more spill will improve the survival of juvenile salmon migrating to the ocean without too great of impact on salmon, resident fish, invertebrates and other aquatic life in the rivers.

At this time, we are considering a short-term modification that would remove the 115% forebay criterion for up to three years. This action would coincide with the flexible spill agreement that aims to benefit salmon and hydropower. 

Learn about our Environmental Impact Statement

In order to do a short-term modification to our Water Quality Standards, we must complete an Environmental Impact Statement. Drafts of our Environmental Impact Statement and short-term modification are now available for public comment. The Environmental Impact Statement, while technical in nature, provides extensive information on current available science, research, and data related to total dissolved gas. It also contains a discussion of potential alternatives for developing a short-term modification. 

Save the date for our upcoming hearings 

We are planning two public hearings that will begin with a short presentation, followed by questions and answers. The hearing portion will begin shortly after the questions and answers are finished. During the hearing, you may give oral testimony and written comments. Written comments will receive the same consideration as oral testimony.

Feb. 13, 2019: In-person in Vancouver, WA at 2:30 p.m.

Washington State School for the Blind

Fries Auditorium (Old Main Building)

2214 East 13th Street

Vancouver, WA 98661

Feb. 19, 2019: Public Hearing via Webinar at 6 p.m. (register for the webinar)

After reviewing the comments, we will release our final Environmental Impact Statement and make a decision on issuing the short-term modification. 

To learn more about Ecology's actions to support orca and salmon recovery, visit our Orca task force webpage.

By Colleen Keltz, Water Quality Program

Oak Harbor has Puget Sound’s future in mind

The city of Oak Harbor is about to bring Puget Sound’s newest wastewater treatment plant online. It’s designed to fit alongside a revitalized downtown park, service the community’s needs for many years, and contribute to continuing efforts to restore and protect water quality in the Sound.  

The administration building at Oak Harbor's new wastewater treatment

plant will include an interpretive center and multi purpose space. 

Oak Harbor dedicated its new plant, located on the Whidbey Island city’s namesake inlet, today. We couldn’t be happier to be part of the celebration. 

We’ve provided over $105 million dollars in financial assistance, through low interest loans and grants, for design and construction of the $128 million dollar project.

New capacity

The plant will be able to treat up to 5 million gallons of wastewater per day. The city’s current daily volume is about 1.5 million gallons, serving about 22,300 people.

“I want to commend the city for its early and ongoing proactive community outreach and communication. The city went to great lengths to ensure that information was shared with its citizens from planning through construction,” said Jeff Nejedly, who oversees Ecology’s Water Quality grants and loans, at the ribbon-cutting event.

Jeff Nejedly, financial assistance supervisor, and Shawn McKone,
municipal wastewater treatment plant permit manager, were among
Ecology's staff who helped the city develop the new facility.

The new all-indoor plant replaces two outdated facilities. One was a smaller city-owned plant that was located near the new plant site. The other is a large wastewater lagoon plant located at Naval Air Station Whidbey – Seaplane Base.

Advanced technology

Oak Harbor’s new system treats wastewater with membrane bioreactors, or “MBRs.” The advanced technology uses ultra-filtration membranes to remove solids left over after beneficial microbes digest the city’s sewage. The result is water that has had most of its impurities removed and residual solids that can be further processed for beneficial use as a fertilizer.

“This advanced wastewater treatment system is capable of producing high-quality “Class A” reclaimed water that can be used for irrigation in parks and in other public areas. This can reduce dependence on drinking water sources for activities that don’t require drinkable water,” said Nejedly.

Oak Harbor's new treatment plant, upper right, nears completion
next to Windjammer Park, center, undergoing its own upgrade.

Re-usable water

The first planned use for the plant’s reclaimed water will be irrigation for the adjacent Windjammer Park, which the city is redeveloping in tandem with the treatment plant project.  The city is in the process of finalizing a proposal to divert a portion of the water produced at the facility for these purposes.

The MBR technology is capable of producing water that contains lower levels of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, than conventional wastewater treatment systems. Excess nitrogen can cause conditions that upset the Puget Sound food web. Maintaining healthy conditions promotes the recovery of salmon, which are the natural prey of Puget Sound’s southern resident orcas.

Oak Harbor’s work on the new plant dates back to 2010 and earlier, when city staff and elected officials determined that the city’s growth would exceed the existing treatment plants’ capacity. Staff from our Water Quality Program provided technical review and assistance on sizing and designing the new system, in addition to the financial assistance.

 Get more information from Oak Harbor’s Clean Water Facility Project website.

By Larry Altose, communications manager, Northwest Regional Office

Ecology researchers study climate effects on Puget Sound food web

Unusual phytoplankton blooms caused by warm ocean water give scientists a glimpse into the future of marine life, from shellfish to whales.

By studying the effects of warmer marine water on the tiny plant-like organisms called phytoplankton, scientists at Ecology are learning how the Puget Sound ecosystem responds to climate change.

They did so when a mass of warm water nicknamed “the Blob” made its way to the Puget Sound in 2015. This unusually warm water gave scientists the opportunity to see what a world with warmer oceans might look like.

The Blob changed the timing and size of phytoplankton blooms significantly; spring blooms happened earlier than usual, and summer blooms were dramatically larger than in previous years.

Most of the marine food web depends on phytoplankton blooms happening at certain times. Because phytoplankton are a key source of energy, their availability affects the life cycles of marine creatures.

Ecology’s Senior Oceanographer, Dr. Christopher Krembs, tells us more.

Krembs: “A lot of life cycles of invertebrates and fish are triggered by temperature. . . . for little larvae that come out of their eggs and for juvenile fish and other species, it is important that they find their food early on in their life cycle because most of the juveniles die if they don’t find optimal conditions.”

If phytoplankton blooms don’t align with critical developmental stages of marine creatures like small fish and krill, the entire food web can suffer. A healthy marine food web is essential to regional efforts to recover salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whale populations, as well as to support the commercial, tribal, and recreational shellfish industries.

Krembs says that the data from 2015 will help scientists model climate change more accurately.

Krembs: “When you see a scenario, you become much better at predicting the future, because now you have environmental data that you can calibrate your models with. And so our predictions become better.”

More research on how a warming climate may affect Puget Sound ecosystems has already begun. To learn more, visit Ecology’s webpage about the Salish Sea Model.


By Ruth Froese, Environmental Assessment Program Communications

New website makes it easier to find state and federal funding

Now you can find many grants and loans for water and salmon related projects offered by the state and federal government in one place.

The new Fundfinder.wa.gov is a clearing house for water quality and salmon project funding. The Fund Finder website allows people to find grants by project type or who can receive the funding.

Partnership of agencies worked to build Fund Finder

This project came from a Results Washington improvement project workgroup. Ecology co-led the process with the Recreation and Conservation Office. This project brought together several natural resource state and federal agencies to collect all of the different funding information. This effort makes it easier for those seeking grants for water quality or salmon restoration projects – as they don’t have to search several different agencies in order to find out what funding is available.

This website is one of several action items that will help standardize and make funding information across multiple agencies more consistent.

Next steps to expand Fund Finder 

Currently, the Fund Finder focuses on projects in the water, aquatic plant removal, restoring salmon habitat, and floodplain management. In the future, we are hoping to expand the Fund Finder to include all natural resource and some infrastructure grants and loans. We hope to include projects such as protecting safe drinking water and road and bridge construction and maintenance.

Check out the Fund Finder today

You can help us improve this new tool by taking this survey after visiting the page.

By Stacy Galleher, Water Quality Program

New Management Program for Lewis County shorelines need public input

County residents have until March 16 to weigh in

With more than 1,100 miles of river shoreline, Lewis County's new Management Program will affect
residents throughout the county. 

If you appreciate shoreline ecology, you’ll like the waters of Lewis County. The county boasts more than 1,100 miles of shoreline, including the Nisqually, Chehalis, Deschutes and Cowlitz rivers, numerous tributaries and 34 lakes.

Restoration of the Upper Chehalis River is a priority under the new Lewis
County Shoreline Management Program.

That’s a lot of water front property.

Lewis County has proposed changes to how it manages the edges of those waterbodies and the Department of Ecology is asking the public to weigh in on those plans. Ecology will compare the county’s proposed program to the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison and the comments the plan receives, Ecology will decide whether to approve the program or ask for changes.

Lewis County’s first Shoreline Master Program was adopted in 1974 and last amended in 1998. The comprehensive update now under consideration prioritizes water-oriented uses and development, protects sensitive areas and includes a restoration plan for degraded and damaged shoreline.

The restoration plan is a 98-page document that identifies priority projects within 16 management areas. An example is Lewis County’s five Upper Chehalis Management Areas, which include hundreds of river miles along the Coast Range, Willapa Hills, Puget Lowlands, Western Foothills and Cascade Lowlands, along hundreds of river miles. Restoration priorities include improved fish passage, restoration of riparian vegetation, and reconnecting the main stem of the Chehalis River and its tributaries with their floodplains..

The public has until 5 p.m. March 16 to comment on Lewis County’s program.

Lewis County’s proposed Shoreline Master Program can be viewed online. Paper copies can be viewed at Ecology’s Southwest Regional Office, 300 Desmond Dr., Lacey, WA 98577, or at the Lewis County Community Development office, 2025 NE Kresky Ave., Chehalis, WA, 98532.

Comments should be addressed to Ecology’s Kim Van Zwalenburg. Here’s how to submit them:

Mail:      Southwest Regional Office
              PO Box 47775
              Olympia, WA 98504-7775
Email:    kim.vanzwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov
Phone:  360-407-6520

By Dave Bennett, Southwest Region communications

Water’s Edge: Planning for salmon farms

Science and the law leads the way in regulating salmon net pens

By Cedar Bouta, shoreline environmental planner

Alevin (newly hatched salmon) with yolk sac.
Photo: PNW Salmon Center.

Washingtonians are passionate about our salmon. We give smoked salmon as presents and take visitors to the Pike Place Market for salmon tossing. We also use images of them on beer, t-shirts and other products. In addition, native peoples harvest and consume wild salmon as an important part of their cultures.

Our conversations about wild versus farmed salmon are passionate too.

That’s why the University of Washington’s Northwest Environmental Forum sponsored a March 22-23 gathering that brought together about 65 stakeholders with differing perspectives about commercial salmon farming in Washington. The forum was a success in bringing together parties who – although on opposite sides of lawsuits or with differing points of view – were willing to come, learn and listen.

The forum highlighted:

• The stakeholders’ shared commitment to a healthy marine environment, recovery of native salmon, and local jobs.
• A growing demand for seafood and the health benefits of eating more salmon.
• The complex oversight provided by local, state and federal permits and authorizations for commercial fish farms.
• A need for more sharing of science and other information about Washington’s existing fish farms.

Commercial salmon net pens near Bainbridge Island, Washington. 

The state of salmon in Washington

Salmon are part of our state’s legacy. Washington has a coordinated, scientifically-rigorous recovery plan spearheaded by the Puget Sound Partnership to ensure wild salmon are part of Washington’s future. The plan contains programs and projects designed to restore native salmon runs and protect endangered and threatened stocks.

Many of the stakeholders represented at the March net pen forum have contributed to salmon recovery in Puget Sound and are working towards addressing urban runoff and other threats.

Feeding a seafood-hungry world

As committed as we are to our native salmon, forum participants learned that our hunger for seafood is growing and imported, farmed salmon is filling the gap. During the years 2000-2004, Americans consumed an average of about 284,000 metric tons (more than 617 million pounds) of salmon annually, of which approximately:

One-third of salmon consumed was wild and two-thirds was farmed.
One-third was domestic production (farmed and wild) and two-thirds was imported.

From January 2015 through March 2016, over 27 million pounds of fresh and frozen Atlantic salmon were imported from other countries through the Port of Seattle. This was almost twice as much as the annual production of commercial salmon farms in Washington.

Forum participants also learned that salmon aquaculture is one of the most resource-efficient sources of ways to produce protein.

Science leads the way, learning more about net pens

Ecology regulates net pen operations, like this one in
Port Angeles, through water quality permits
and shoreline master programs.

We have information describing our current approach to shoreline planning and commercial salmon net pens on our website. We also have video of scientific presentations and an expert panel discussing net pen operations, fish health, escapement, genetics, water quality and management tools.

Ecology will continue to let science and the law lead the way – adapting our findings and requirements as needed. Working together, we and other stakeholders can ensure commercial net pens do not put wild salmon recovery at risk.

Learn more about Ecology’s role
with net pens on our website.

The science of safer chemical ingredients

By Andrew Wineke, communications manager, Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction

Earlier this week, we told you about Washington’s progress in fighting copper pollution by working with brake manufacturers to cut copper in vehicle brake pads and shoes. Copper is toxic to salmon and other aquatic species, and brakes are a major source for the copper getting into our streams, rivers, lakes and Puget Sound.

Washington’s push has already reduced copper content in brakes by 25 percent since 2011. After seeing the good news, however, an astute reader asked, “Brake manufacturers replaced asbestos with copper – what’s replacing copper?”

And that’s a great question.

Asbestos is a mineral that was widely used for decades because of its ability to resist heat and fire. Widely used, that is, until it became clear that asbestos exposure could cause lung cancer and other serious health problems.

Replacing one toxic chemical with another is called a “regrettable substitution.” Sometimes, switching from a toxic chemical to a somewhat less-toxic substitute is the best option available.

Ideally, we can find alternatives that do not pose a threat to human health or the environment. At Ecology, we work with industry to tackle this challenge in several ways:

• First, we offer training and technical assistance in conducting chemical hazard assessments – these are rigorous comparisons that allow us to show we’ve looked at the full range of potential effects of a chemical. 
• We also work with industry on much broader reviews called alternatives assessments, which compare not only the toxicity of chemical ingredients, but also their cost, availability and performance.
• Lastly, we are partnering with industry and academic researchers to develop the science of green chemistry, which is the design of chemicals and processes so that they are safer, healthier and more sustainable. Green chemistry prevents pollution at its source by creating chemicals that are not toxic. 

 So now, back to the original question – how do we know we’re not repeating history, and that the minerals or compounds replacing copper won’t turn out to be harmful somehow in the future? We put the question to Ian Wesley, Ecology’s Better Brakes coordinator. Here’s what he told us:

“You’re correct that copper was introduced, in part, to replace asbestos in brake pads. Manufacturers have told us that they are using a number of strategies in reducing copper content.

They are using more ceramics, synthetic aramid fibers (like Kevlar), carbon, and other less-hazardous materials. Manufacturers are keenly aware of the dangers of regrettable substitution.

This is the second time in the 30 years they have had to completely reformulate their products. Many manufacturers are doing comprehensive toxicological screenings on the materials they use.

Manufacturers are also required to report on the content of nickel, zinc, and antimony in their products under the Better Brakes Law. Like copper, these metals are toxic to aquatic life and we are monitoring the amount of these metals released from brake products.” 

 At Ecology, we know that getting toxic chemicals out of the products we use is extremely important. Jumping from one toxic chemical to another, though, isn’t a smart investment. We’re doing everything we can to find the safest alternatives available.

Padden Creek’s daylighting a big win for fish

By Krista Kenner, Communications Manager, Bellingham Field Office

Before: salmon won’t swim into the Padden Creek tunnel

This week, when returning salmon are expected to swim back into Bellingham’s Padden Creek, the migrating fish will find it much easier to make it upstream to spawn.

That’s because the city of Bellingham is finishing up the Padden Creek Daylighting project, a $2.8 million effort that re-routed 2,300 feet of the creek from a brick tunnel into a natural stream channel. Ecology’s Water Quality Grants and Loans Program funded a large portion of this work.

For more than 120 years, nearly half a mile of the creek was forced through the tunnel. Fish will not enter the dark passage.

“In essence, spawning fish couldn’t get through the long, dark tunnel,” said Craig Mueller, project engineer.

In the past, nearby residents and other volunteers would hand carry fish past the tunnel when they couldn’t get through.

The tunnel also made homes in part of the city’s Happy Valley neighborhood vulnerable to flooding when creek flows exceeded the tube’s capacity.

Water quality was also a driving factor of this project. Padden Creek, like all streams in Bellingham, is listed for high fecal coliform and low dissolved oxygen. In January, crews will plant native vegetation along the creek which will help reduce temperature and fecal coliform levels. The new channel will also create more turbulence in the flow, which will add dissolved oxygen.

The tunnel will remain in place for a more productive use. It will continue to convey stormwater runoff and provide emergency capacity to help protect more Happy Valley homes from flooding during extreme weather events.

Community members gather to see water flow into the new channel

Thirty years in the making, the project had its celebratory day in the limelight last Friday when over 100 community members gathered to witness the removal of the cofferdam, which let water flow into the new channel. Fish barriers come out today, giving salmon access to over a half mile of new habitat and spawning area.

What do a salmon and a beloved dog have in common?

by Lynne Geller, communications and outreach, Water Resources Program

They can both be tracked with an identification chip! 

We know it’s a safety feature for dogs. But why salmon? 

Taking the Temperature of the Pilchuck River

By Ralph Svrjcek, Water Quality Program, and Nuri Mathieu, Environmental Assessment Program

Ecology's Ralph Svrjcek uses a datasonde to measure
water conditions in the Pilchuck River, July 2014.

The Pilchuck River is an important resource for people and fish.  In summer, hundreds of local residents cool off in its waters during hot weather. Needless to say, fish need to stay cool during the heat, too, in fact they require cold water to survive.   

Salmon need summer water temperatures no higher than about 62 degrees, Fahrenheit.  However, limited data collected by Ecology, Snohomish County, and others show the Pilchuck’s water can reach the mid-70s.  Ecology's Environmental Assessment Program and Water Quality Program are teaming up to gain a better understanding of Pilchuck River temperatures as part of the French Creek/Pilchuck River Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study.

What we're doing

We’re measuring river temperatures and water levels three different times this summer.

It’s called a synoptic survey. We first did this in early July when the sun was high and river levels started to drop. We’re taking our second survey this week after a long period of warm and dry weather, and as river flows continue to drop.

We measure water temperature, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen at more than a dozen key river locations.  This shows us where cooling and warming processes are occurring. We hope to identify the most important areas of the river for fish.

Who else is on the team?

Ecology is getting help in the field this summer from the Tulalip Tribes and Snohomish Conservation District. We also received good advice and guidance from the fisheries scientists at Snohomish County’s Surface Water Management Division to help us make our 2014 field work as useful and productive as possible.

What’s next?

The data we collect will be incorporated into our study to improve water quality in the river, called a TMDL. In early 2015, we will convene an advisory group

This long probe gathers continuous profile of the river’s
temperature as the team floats down the Pilchuck River.

that includes staff from the Tulalip Tribes, Snohomish County, French Slough Flood Control District and others to review our results and determine what actions are needed to reduce the high temperatures in French Creek (sampled in 2012) and the Pilchuck River. After that work is completed we will hold a public meeting and make the draft study and recommendations available to the general public for review and comment.

Ecology helping huge salmon run clear Washington state's Zosel Dam

By Dan Partridge, communications manager, Water Resources Program

Record numbers of sockeye salmon are swimming up the Columbia River and the Department of Ecology is working with its partners at Zosel Dam near the Canadian border to help as many of them as possible reach their destination.



A sockeye salmon leaps up the fish gate at Zosel Dam, one of hundreds moving through the dam last week.

Photo Richard McGuire, Osoyoos Times

The salmon have been migrating upriver annually for a millennium from where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocrean at Astoria, Ore., to the Okanogan River on the Canadian border. This year conditions are such that Washington state is seeing the largest run of sockeye since 1938.

It's a tough run upstream

More than 500,000 fish have passed the Bonneville Dam east of Portland in Oregon but ultimately scores of them won’t make it to their final destination in Canada because of predators, fishermen and dams.

The Zosel Dam at Oroville, owned and operated by Washington state through the Department of Ecology is one of the final hurdles for the fish. The dam, constructed in 1987, has as its primary purpose the maintenance of water levels in Lake Osoyoos. Ecology contracts with the Oroville Tonasket Irrigation District to operate the dam. The lake provides water for irrigation and recreation, as well as the growing fishery in the upper Okanogan Basin.

Flexible rules help the run

Operation of the dam, which does not produce electricity, is governed by orders developed under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the U.S. and Canada. For over 100 years this treaty has governed the management of water bodies that cross the border of our two countries. While these orders are confined largely to water quantity issues, they leave Ecology with enough flexibility to meet many demands not covered under the orders.

One of these demands for Ecology and our local, tribal, state and provincial partners is helping these fish get upriver past Zosel Dam as quickly as possible.

“Ecology is able to adjust the configuration of the gates that control the flow of water through the dam to assist fish as they pass through the structure,” said Al Josephy, environmental planner at Ecology. “This passage occurs when water temperatures in the river fall below 24 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) which happens irregularly through the summer months. When it does happen, the fish rush to clear the dam and move into the lakes and the Okanagan River in Canada.”

Record numbers now

As of Friday, July 25th, fish were moving through the gates at Zosel at a rate of 800 to 1000 fish per hour.

Despite the efforts of Ecology and our partners, a large number of dead fish will likely be seen along river banks and lake shores this year because the size of the sockeye run is so large.

“We get calls every year from folks who assume the fish are dying because of how we regulate water levels at Zosel Dam,” Josephy said. “ The truth is, natural conditions like high temperatures take their toll on the fish runs. We are doing all we can to help sustain this tremendously valuable natural resource.”

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New Video Emphasizes Why Salmon Are Important to Washington State

By Dustin Bilhimer, Water Quality Program

Photo Credit: Lloyd Moody

Earlier this year, the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office (GSRO) published the 2012 State of Salmon in Watersheds Report describing the importance of improving salmon habitat, water quality, and salmon populations in our state. GSRO recently produced an excellent, 10-minute video titled “State of Salmon: Restoring a Washington Icon” (now available on YouTube) about why salmon are important, and it includes perspectives from tribes, agencies, scientists, public citizens and other salmon recovery partners working to bring salmon back from the brink of extinction.

The video from GSRO does a fantastic job of highlighting some of these successes, and has interviews with salmon recovery partners who explain not only why this work is important for recovering salmon and restoring a part of our shared natural heritage, but also why it is good for the economy and people too. Salmon recovery is a part of our State’s economic recovery.

There are many different organizations and people that contribute to the recovery work, including the Department of Ecology. You can read about the water quality improvement work in the State of Salmon Report as well as on Ecology’s web pages for monitoring data and water quality improvement projects.

While all this work has resulted in some successes, there are still many more improvements needed. Partnerships, science-based management approaches, continued funding, and dedication from the people working to improve salmon populations are the ingredients necessary for successful recovery. However, the biggest variables in the recipe for salmon recovery and water quality improvement are the actions each of us can take to reduce our pollution impacts on our rivers, lakes, and the Puget Sound.

Here are some links to further information on ways to reduce pollution:

• How Ecology implements water quality improvements through regulations and financial assistance
• How Landowners can protect water quality
• What you can do to make a big difference

Be sure to check out this inspirational video! There are also additional 2-3 minute videos with extended interviews from some of the key leaders shown in the longer video available from the Washington RCO YouTube channel.

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Stories about Getting to Clean Water: New Tidegate for Batt Slough - Collaboration builds trust in the valley

By Diane Dent, Water Quality Stories Lead, Water Quality Program

Batt Slough prior to new tidegate installation.

Introduction

After a 1960 flood inundated over 8000 acres of prime agricultural land in the Snohomish River Valley, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built a series of levees and gates to reduce flooding and manage the return flow of the flood water.

Concerns and complaints led the state Department of Ecology and the Marshlands Flood Control District (MFCD), a small public entity not normally in the public’s eye, into what could have been a tense relationship that instead became a partnership to meet MFCD goals and improve water quality and help salmon.

Problem

The underlying issue was a matter of trust. Ecology was concerned about the water quality in this predominantly agricultural area, including maintaining a natural fish population. The MFCD was leery of interacting with environmental agencies in general and Ecology in particular.

The specific issue was a failing flood gate on the Snohomish River about six miles upstream of Interstate 5. That gate served to drain Batt Slough, which is a remnant side channel that offers potential refuge habitat for migrating salmon. Batt Slough could provide about one mile of resting and refuge opportunities at a critical location. Significantly, the gate was not serving its original purpose of flood control.

To find out how the problem was resolved, read the full story online.

Story written by Bob Penhale, Ecology Northwest Regional Office

Telling our success stories

Water quality success stories provide a wealth of information associated with novel project designs, funding ideas, and useful resource suggestions. Some are clear successes; others supply valuable lessons to help us grow in our understanding of water quality protection and restoration. Stories illustrate successes gained from cooperation among Washington’s citizens and organizations.

Read all of our Ecology's water quality success stories, and check out our complete catalog of stories.

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Around the Sound: A Sound check on salmon, seal health

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

Two newspapers offer their looks at Puget Sound’s health as measured through different creatures that live in the Sound’s waters.

Chris Dunagan of the Kitsap Sun has published his latest take the Sound’s health. This one focuses on salmon and other fish in the Sound’s waters.

Dunagan delves into “vital signs” collected by the Puget Sound Partnership. You also can check out his prior installments.

Also, Lynda V. Mapes of the Seattle Times explores the health of harbor seals throughout the Sound.

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Stories about Getting to Clean Water: Why does Hansen Creek look like Normandy Beach?

By Diane Dent, Water Quality Stories Lead, Water Quality Program

Passersby on State Highway 20 above Sedro-Woolley wondered, “What are those acres and acres of jutting posts? Why does it look so much like Normandy Beach in World War II?” As it turns out it was “D-Day” for stream habitat degradation.

The problem

The Hansen Creek project area was originally a forested alluvial fan and wetland. It was cleared and used for farming as early as the 1940s. The site is currently used as a Skagit County park. Over time, this reach of Hansen Creek became a levied, straightened channel maintained by routine dredging. Hansen Creek would flow through the constricted channel and dump tons of sediment onto farms below, both clogging the creek and causing flooding to downstream farmers. Dredging harmed the stream environment and the salmon living in the creek. Five different species of anadromous salmon (fish that spend time in both fresh and sea waters) have been observed in the creek, including two Endangered Species Act species—Chinook and steelhead.

Project highlights

This project re-established natural landscape processes in the Hansen Creek basin. It restored over 140 acres and 17,000 lineal feet of stream, riparian, and floodplain habitat. The project enhanced in-stream habitat complexity, restored channel connection with the floodplain, and developed forested riparian floodplain and flow channels. Side channels provide rearing, foraging, and migration habitat for fish. This project is unique in the size of the floodplain restoration. A project site of this size changes the dynamic of restoration needs along the entire stream. Now, several years after establishing the log “beachhead” on the Hansen Creek floodplain on “D-Day” in July 2009, salmon and water quality “Allies” can celebrate the victory of improved stream channel, less sediment transport below Highway 20, and greatly improved salmon habitat.

• Read this full story online
• Story written by Joan Nolan, Ecology Northwest Regional Office

Telling our success stories

Water quality success stories provide a wealth of information associated with novel project designs, funding ideas, and useful resource suggestions. Some are clear successes; others supply valuable lessons to help us grow in our understanding of water quality protection and restoration. Stories illustrate successes gained from cooperation among Washington’s citizens and organizations.

Read all of Ecology's water quality success stories, and check out our complete catalog of stories to date.

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At the Water’s Edge: Updated aquaculture online resources

By Cedar Bouta, Environmental Planner, Shorelands & Environmental Assistance Program

Suquamish Tribe’s shellfish nursery raft in Poulsbo marina. Photo by Keri Weaver. Courtesy of City of Poulsbo.


Icicle Seafoods’ net pen at Ediz Hook, Port Angeles.


Chinook salmon. Courtesy of WDFW.

Aquaculture is the culture or farming of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic plants and animals. It occurs in all types of water bodies – from lakes and streams to Puget Sound and the coast – and includes restoring, planting, growing, harvesting, transporting and selling fish, shellfish and aquatic plants.

Citizens and local governments wanting to learn more about aquaculture science and policies can visit Ecology’s updated online shellfish and net pen resources.

Aquaculture is an historic, water-dependent use of Washington’s shorelines preceding Washington statehood in 1889. Commercial shellfish aquaculture, for instance, has operated in our waters for well over 100 years and finfish net pens for almost 40 years.

Both types of operations are subject to many different federal, state and local regulations.

Shoreline master programs and aquaculture

Several local governments bordering marine waters are updating their shoreline master programs and related permitting requirements for aquaculture. A shoreline master program combines local plans for future shoreline development and preservation with new development ordinances and related permitting requirements.

These local programs must comply with the state Shoreline Management Act, passed by voter referendum in 1972, and related standards, referred to as “guidelines.”

The updating process provides an opportunity for citizens to get involved in shaping the future of their shorelines.

Concerns about aquaculture

Some elected officials and citizens have raised concerns about potential adverse environmental and economic effects from commercial aquaculture – especially geoduck operations and Puget Sound net pen operations raising Atlantic salmon.

Concerns include:

• Effects on endangered native salmon.
• Introduction of disease and non-native species.
• Interference with navigation.
• Loss of shoreline access and aesthetics.

Many of these issues are addressed through state and federal regulations. Local governments also have the option to require substantial development permits and/or conditional use permits for new commercial aquaculture.

Ecology relies on partner expertise

Based on the best scientific knowledge and advice from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Geological Survey,Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Natural Resources, Ecology has concluded that when properly sited and operated, commercial net pens are compatible with a healthy marine environment.

On Jan. 10, 2013, Ecology hosted a state and federal employee symposium about the science and management of commercial net pens. We have posted videos from the event.

Ecology is working with cities and counties and using the most relevant science to inform our review and approval of local shoreline program updates. The content of these updated programs will have a strong influence on the future of aquaculture in Washington.

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Water's Edge: New video focuses on young salmon and shorelines

By Annette Frahm, Green Shorelines Outreach Coordinator, King County (WRIA 8)

Salmon are a Pacific Northwest icon.

As a keystone species, salmon help support wildlife – from birds to bears and otters to seals, sea lions and Puget Sound orcas.

Young salmon need healthy shorelines to help them survive. A new video explains the shoreline elements that are important to these endangered fish.

The video features Roger Tabor, biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, who has studied salmon in Lake Washington for 20 years.

Find out more at the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8) Green Shorelines website. Or visit the Green Shorelines blog.

WRIA 8 partners are working to restore and conserve Chinook salmon, listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. WRIA 8 is a cooperative effort of 27 local governments, citizens, businesses, scientists and environmentalists.

For more information, contact me by phone at 206-296-8013 or send me an email.

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New Tool Helps Ecology Help Fish

By Tim Hill, Office of Columbia River

Ecology’s Office of Columbia River (OCR) has a new tool to help us find the streamflow improvement projects that provide the most benefits to fish. Created with the help of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the “Columbia River Instream Atlas ” identifies where fish may be struggling and why and where we might have the most success with our streamflow investments.

We look at three important factors when making streamflow enhancement decisions: habitat, streamflows, and the amount of fish in a stream. The Atlas scores each of the factors for portions of streams, called reaches, located in eight of the most “fish critical” watersheds in eastern Washington. The scores allow us to tailor projects to make needed improvements and maximize returns.

A good candidate for water enhancement might be a reach that scores low in fish utilization, poor in streamflows, and fair or good in habitat. A little extra water in that reach would provide a lot of benefit to fish.

Alternatively, a reach that scores poor in habitat, low in fish utilization, and poor or fair in streamflows would likely require habitat restoration before streamflow issues are tackled.

But before OCR funds any instream flow project, it must find a new water supply nearby to provide the water. It’s a tough job, but OCR is working hard to do it. The Office has developed nearly 150,000 ac-ft of new supply since 2006.

The Atlas is part of a larger “Columbia River Basin Long-Term Water Supply and Demand Forecast” (Forecast) OCR will publish in November. Both documents are currently available in draft form. You can download them here. OCR is accepting comments on the Atlas and the Forecast though October 31st.

The Legislature created OCR in 2006 and tasked it with finding new water supplies to meet instream and out-of-stream water needs.

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Students soak up groundwater lessons at Salmon Summit in Kennewick

By Erika Bronson and Ginger Wireman, Community Outreach & Environmental Education Specialists, Nuclear Waste Program

On May 4 and 5, about 4,000 students from schools in Benton and Franklin counties flocked to the east end of Columbia Park in Kennewick. They were there to release the salmon they'd raised into the Columbia River as part of the Salmon in the Classroom program and to attend Salmon Summit. Each of the mostly fourth- and fifth-grade classes visited eight learning stations during their visit. There were 80 stations focusing on water, salmon, and other environmental science topics.

One station featured Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialists Ginger Wireman and Erika Holmes from Ecology’s Nuclear Waste Program, one of the regulators of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation cleanup. They shared presentations with roughly 400 students and 30 chaperones and teachers. Wireman has presented at Salmon Summit for 10 years both with Ecology and as a Washington State University Water Resources Specialist. Holmes’ experience includes pairing Eastern Washington University college students with a local conservation group to create outreach materials about endangered species in Washington.

“The students, teachers, and chaperones were all a pleasure to work with, and they asked a lot of great questions,” Holmes said. “I hope to work with many more by increasing Ecology’s presence in schools throughout the area.”

Modeling cleanup methods
Watching a Hanford-specific groundwater model in action, students saw how plumes of groundwater contamination look, how they occur at Hanford, and how techniques like pump and treat, apatite sequestration, and biostimulation have helped to reduce the 80 square miles of groundwater contaminated above federal and state drinking water standards.

Not just nuclear waste
The Benton and Franklin Conservation Districts — sponsors of local Salmon in the Classroom programs — searched the region for presenters to cover all the stations. Professionals came from as far away as Spokane, including Ecology's own Brook Beeler and Kendra Robinson-Harding who presented on water quality and air quality.

Wireman attended the Summit as a chaperone with her daughter's fifth-grade class the second day. “I've known many of the people in the environmental education community for years. It was nice to finally get to see all these amazing 'non-formal' educators in action.”

Want more?
Sign up your class for free classroom outreach by contacting Ginger Wireman (372-7935), and don’t miss our web pages made just for kids. More photos of the event are available from the Tri-City Herald and Pasco School District.

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