Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery

fish-admin

About fish-admin

https://issaquahfish.org

Posts by David Gowing:

Peter Gowell

Peter is honored to serve on the FISH Board. He brings the shared commitment and purpose of promoting conservation, education, environmental sustainability and supporting the overall mission of FISH.

A native Seattleite growing up on the Eastside, he was introduced to the significance of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery in grade school (as well as the magic of Boehm’s Candies chocolates). Trips into the Issaquah Alps along with experiences with both Boy Scouts and Mountaineers heightened his awareness and the need to secure healthy fish habitats to support the runs of chinook, coho, sockeye, kokanee, trout and steelhead found in Issaquah Creek.

A CPA by training, he has 20+ years of finance & accounting leadership experience with a large professional services firm, experience beneficial to continuing the strong stewardship of FISH.

Orcas Eat Chum, Too!

Orca eating salmon

Recent research in the Salish Sea and off the Washington coast examined the orca’s seasonal diet. It is well documented that orca prefer Chinook, presumably because of their larger size, but it turns out “Chinook salmon were identified as an important prey item year-round, averaging ~50% of their diet in the fall, increasing to 70–80% in the mid-winter/early spring, and increasing to nearly 100% in the spring. Other salmon species and non-salmonid fishes, also made substantial dietary contributions.” How did the researchers establish this detailed diet analysis? Poop. More specifically, analysis of feces collected from October to May 2004-2017. The authors reach a number of conclusions, ranging from noting that most Chinook consumed consisted of 50-80% hatchery fish, and that the unexpected diversity in species consumed suggests that a successful orca recovery strategy include more than just Chinook enhancement.

Read the Article

Awesome Views of Our Very Own Issaquah Creek

Brian Foote, co-founder of EarthViews, sent us a special treat: a view of Issaquah Creek from the hatchery weir down to Confluence Park. This amazing technology gives you the ability to virtually ‘walk’ down the middle of Issaquah Creek, spinning your head for a 360 degree view — all from the comfort of your desk chair or smartphone! Check it out. We’d love to get your feedback! Should we do more of the Creek — maybe from the mouth to the headwaters? Maybe do this multiple times per year? Tell us what you want.

Steven Holland, Treasurer

Steve Holland is delighted to serve on the FISH board and feels that it is all our responsibility to pay it forward for the next generation (especially his daughters who love to fish) to keep the salmon coming home.  He has been volunteering in multiple roles at the hatchery for the last two years and feels more can be done to educate and build towards the future – together as a community.

Steve learned how to fish in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with his Dad, uncles, and cousins for Muskie, Northern Pike, Coho, and Steelhead.  Since then, he has fished around the world from New Zealand to Russia, but Chinook remains his favorite.  Steve launches out of both Edmonds and Point Roberts Marina with his Grady-White.

Steve is quasi-retired and is a recovering Chief Information Officer for multiple Fortune 100 companies.  Since he still loves technology, he has found himself helping startup companies in Bellevue and San Francisco get launched and provides enterprise “Crisis CIO” help when needed. 

Madeline Fish

Madeline Fish is passionate about community engagement and the opportunity to educate Eastside residents regarding the Issaquah Fish Hatchery. An Issaquah resident since 1992, she loves living and hiking on Squak Mountain and working in Issaquah for another locally-based non-profit organization. She’s a VOICE mentor in the Issaquah School District and volunteers with other local organizations. She’s an avid reader and sourdough aficionado. She and her husband, Chris, love boating in South Puget Sound.  Madeline joined the FISH Board in 2019.

Robin Spicer

“Spicer,” a local and regional graphic designer with extensive marketing success, has lived, worked and volunteered in the Issaquah community since 1984. Her portfolio includes branding, packaging and promotions for real estate, tourism, sports, tech, finance, food/beverage and manufacturing companies, as well as small business, community non-profit organizations and festivals. (Spicer was the designer of the Issaquah Salmon Days Festival theme and logos from 1995 to 2019 and original FISH logo in 1992.)

With a continuous passion for design, community, salmon and the environment, Spicer relishes her free time swimming, reading, writing and celebrating all things – ideally along rivers, lakes, mountains or in our local haunts – with family, friends and partner Rob.

Laughing Jacobs Creek

About Laughing Jacobs Creek

Laughing Jacobs Creek drains 3,600 acres of Issaquah and Sammamish — including Beaver Lake and Laughing Jacobs Lake — into the southeast corner of the Lake Sammamish. It is one of four primary spawning creeks for the endangered kokanee of Lake Sammamish. 3,500 feet of the creek are available to migrating fish up to Laughing Jacobs Falls. However, a 48” pipe culvert under East Lake Sammamish Parkway (ELSP) presents a significant barrier to migration.

The restoration project area within the greater Issaquah/Sammamish area.
Gallery: The Restoration Plan for Laughing Jacobs Creek

History of the Area
The project area is located just north and east of the Lake Sammamish State Park boat launch and ELSP. In the 1800s, this area was deforested (including the creek path), the creek was channelized, wetlands near the lake shore were converted to farmland, and a railroad was constructed along the east side of Lake Sammamish to serve the numerous lumber mills along the lake shore. The earliest arial photograph of the area, taken in 1936 (see gallery), shows a still-mostly deforested landscape, the channelized creek, and farmlands, while the railroad is gone, indicative of the demise of the local timber industry following areawide deforestation. Some land has been restored to wetland, with the notable exception of the boat launch area and the adjacent private properties to the north.

The Restoration Project Area

  1. East of ELSP: Laughing Jacobs Falls drops down from the Plateau to Hans Jensen State Park (the project’s eastern border). Here the creek runs through mature forest, but the corridor is narrow and restricted by its proximity to ELSP. There is some armoring of the creek channel. A second tributary, Many Springs Creek, flows from the north. Many Springs Creek is also considered potentially good habitat for kokanee. (Note: it currently crosses under ELSP via a separate, adjacent culvert.)
  2. ELSP: Laughing Jacobs Creek flows under ELSP via a 48″ pipe culvert. While kokanee have been observed on the upstream of this culvert, migration is highly dependent on flow, and is therefore considered a significant barrier.
  3. West side of ELSP: Laughing Jacobs Creek is joined by Many Springs Creek, and flows through three private lots on its way to the lake. (The mouth is potentially good rearing habitat for juvenile Chinook.) These lots were once farm land. The creek in this reach has not been allowed to recover, having the following characteristics:
    1. Lawn and landscaped fields
    2. Little riparian cover or shade
    3. Some areas are choked with invasives
    4. Armored banks

Goals of the Project

  1. To replace the 48″ pipe culvert at ELSP with a fish-passable culvert, and
  2. To restore reaches of Laughing Jacobs Creek upstream of ELSP (WILL THERE BE ANY RESTORATION OF MANY SPRINGS CREEK???) for spawning kokanee, coho and cutthroat trout.

Future goals: work with private landowners on the west side of ELSP to restore riparian and in-stream habitat, including the mouth of the creek at Lake Sammamish.

The Chosen Restoration Plan
The Kokanee Work Group evaluated three “alternatives” and selected Alternative 3. The restoration plan will:

  1. Replace the two existing culverts for Laughing Jacobs Creek and Many Springs Creek with a single, 25-foot wide box culvert passage with fish-friendly features.
  2. Relocate the confluence of Many Springs Creek and Laughing Jacobs Creek to the east side of ELSP — to within the boundaries of Washington State Parks.
  3. Realign (relocate) a significant section of Laughing Jacobs Creek, away from the east side of ELSP, and further into mature-forest State Park land. This will:
    • Provide a much larger riparian buffer along both sides of the channel.
    • Allow for better long-term natural “recruitment” of fallen wood from the existing forest. (Fallen wood, over time, creates stream diversity, cover for fish, depressions in the stream bed, and helps retain spawning gravels.)

Highlights of the proposed creek channel:
It is intended to create a “mini floodplain within the stream corridor.”

  • It will be wider, allowing the creek to naturally migrate and sort sediment and gravel.
  • It will be a “two-stage channel” consisting of:
    1. a low flow channel and
    2. thin benches a foot above the channel bottom on each side, in order to spread higher flows across a wider area.

Concerns: Issaquah School District developments upstream

The Issaquah School District is constructing three schools within one mile upstream of the project area: a high school, a middle school and an elementary school. These projects will include a significant amount of impervious surface, thereby contribute additional flow to the creek during storm events, while reducing groundwater recharge, depriving the creek of that water during the summer. Increased flow during storm events will contribute to scouring of the creek bed and spawning beds. The City of Issaquah and the Kokanee Work Group should consult the school district on what additional stormwater measures can be taken to protect Laughing Jacob Creek salmonids. Additionally, the planned artificial turf football field should be reviewed for its potentially lethal effect on coho salmon attributable to rubber infill derived from recycled tires.

Zackuse Creek

About Zackuse Creek

Zackuse (also spelled Zaccuse) Creek drains a 240-acre watershed into Lake Sammamish. It is one of the four primary creeks used by endangered kokanee of Lake Sammamish. The creek descends from the Plateau through mature forest to what was previously farmland.

In the 1800s, the area was deforested and much was converted to farmland. The Seattle Lakeshore & Eastern Railroad crossed Zackuse Creek approximately 500 feet upstream of Lake Sammamish, and a lumber mill was located on the shoreline within one mile to the north. Since the 1980s, significant residential development has taken place in the upper watershed.

Zackuse Creek Restoration Project
Gallery: Zackuse Creek restoration project

Features of the 2018 Zackuse Creek restoration project:

  1. Replaced pipe culvert barriers with fish-friendly box culverts. The new culverts provide wide, unobstructed fish passage, designed to emulate a natural stream bed. Locations:
    1. East Lake Sammamish Parkway (ELSP)
    2. East Lake Sammamish Trail
    3. East Lake Sammamish Shore Lane NE
  2. Realigned (relocated) and restored 400 feet of creek:
    1. Away from: 1) where it was choked by invasives, which had trapped fines and sands and destroyed spawning habitat; and 2) where the channel was straight and provided no habitat. 
    2. Inline with the new box culvert at ELSP.
    3. Design goals:
      1. Enable the creek to sort gravel and sediments to maintain good spawning material for kokanee.
      2. Prevent sedimentation of the creek channel by allowing fines and sands to flush through to Lake Sammamish and outside of the creek channel to the wetlands.
      3. Prevent the stream channel from migrating within the alluvial plain in order to maintain alignment with the culvert at ELSP.
      4. Establish riparian growth with the goal of longterm stream diversity.
    4. Design features:
      1. NEED HELP HERE BECAUSE THE ACTUAL DESIGN DIFFERS FROM THE PLAN.

Challenges of an alluvial plain
The plateau above the project area is characterized by glacial deposition and, during storm events, Zackuse Creek carries a high load of sediment and gravel. The project area is, in fact, historically an alluvial plain — where sediment drops off as flow fans out. Typically, within such an environment, the creek would naturally migrate and braid, and this presents a challenge for longterm alignment with permanent structures — in this case, the culvert under East Lake Sammamish Parkway.

The new section of creek was designed to maintain a defined channel, with some room for the creek to migrate within the channel. The ongoing challenge will be how to preserve its alignment with the culvert while not creating sediment deposition buildup within the channel.

As of February, 2021, the new box channel culvert has accumulated significant sediment and will need to be monitored and possibly modified to ensure sediment flows through to Lake Sammamish, as intended, rather than create flooding problems.

Significant issues remain upstream

Immediately upstream of the project area (Reaches 5 & 6 in the gallery) is an area of transition to mature forest. These reaches should demonstrate what recovery looks like. Instead, they show the effects of surging stormwater runoff from residential development in the upper watershed. Paved surfaces and roofs (impervious surfaces) have altered the flow of the creek. Storm drains, which convey rain water to the creek quickly rather than allow it to percolate into the groundwater table, overload Zackuse Creek during storm events, scouring the creek bed and eroding natural features of the channel. More than that, all creeks rely on groundwater for flow during dry periods, and development in the upper watershed has blocked a significant portion of that recharge for Zackuse Creek.

Evidence A in Zackuse Creek: in 2012, stream surveyors documented a __-foot long incised channel in Reach 5 (see gallery). They concluded that this incision in the creek channel is a result of the creek not being able to naturally withstand the new volume of storm water flow from developments upstream.

Evidence B in Zackuse Creek: at the upstream end of this incision — at the time — was a 5-foot high waterfall. When the surveyors returned in 2015, the waterfall had receded over 150 feet upstream (extending the incised channel). It is most likely that this incision has eroded further upstream since that time.

Zackuse Creek Restoration Project
Gallery: Problems remain upstream

This creekbed incision & recession was responsible for much of the sediment deposition in the lower reaches prior to the realignment of the creek in 2018. The new, realigned channel has been designed to compensate for this sediment overload, but the continuing erosion, incision and recession of this upstream reach will destroy further habitat upstream until it is addressed. 

Special Note: Collaboration
This restoration project was initiated in 2012 when Wally Pereyra, a private landowner and kokanee advocate, contracted an environmental-engineering firm to evaluate conditions on Zackuse Creek from the mouth of the creek to the east portion of his property (over 1,300 feet total). Mr. Pereyra funded a second study in 2015, all with the intent of jumpstarting a formal review process for the creek. His efforts led to a restoration partnership of the following agencies and groups:

  • City of Sammamish
  • King County Parks
  • Kokanee Work Group
  • Snoqualmie Tribe
  • Trout Unlimited
  • Washington State Fish and Wildlife
  • Private property owners.

Ebright Creek

About Ebright Creek

Ebright Creek is located on the east side of Lake Sammamish, and drains a 1.4 square mile watershed. It is one of just four remaining kokanee spawning streams of Lake Sammamish, and the mouth of the creek is important for rearing juvenile Chinook salmon. In the 1800s, the surrounding area and riparian land was deforested, the creek bed was channelized, land was converted to farmland, and a railroad crossed the creek approximately 500 feet upstream of Lake Sammamish to serve the nearby lumber mills along the shoreline. Today, pipe culverts under East Lake Sammamish Parkway (ELSP) and the East Lake Sammamish Trail (location of the former railroad) present barriers to fish migration, and much of the habitat remains degraded.

Gallery: Ebright Creek restoration project details
Gallery: Ebright Creek restoration project details

Restoration and planning for Ebright Creek has been ongoing since the 1990s
King County first restored a section of the creek in the 1990s. Beginning in 2012, a private landowner, the City of Sammamish, the Kokanee Work Group and its partners developed restoration plans and restored some sections of the creek. (Detailed timeline included below.) In 2021 and 2022, the City of Sammamish and King County will remove pipe culvert barriers. Combined, these upcoming projects will open up 1.11 miles of quality spawning habitat upstream to kokanee.

Details of the Upcoming 2021/2022 Restoration Projects
In 2021, the City of Sammamish will:

  • Replace two 30-inch concrete culvert pipes under East Lake Sammamish Parkway with a fish-friendly 14’ wide x 9’ tall box culvert. The new culvert will feature “meander bars” to create channel sinuosity through the passage.
  • Re-align the creekbed east of ELSP to the new box culvert.
  • Enhance and restore riparian habitat of the new creek channel with large woody debris (LWD) structures and boulders.

In 2022, King County will:

  • Replace the two culvert pipes under the East Lake Sammamish Trail with fish-friendly box culverts. Details pending.

Timeline: The History of Restoration on Ebright Creek:

1990’s: Habitat improvements upstream of ELSP.
King County installed 20 pieces of large woody debris (LWD).

2012: Notable homeowner conservation effort.
Wally Pereyra, a landowner committed to kokanee conservation, replaced a __ inch culvert on his property with a concrete archway bridge to provide unimpeded fish passage. The new passage will also prevent sediment deposition. Invasive plants were removed from the middle reach and replaced with native trees and shrubs. 

Ebright Creek Pereyra project - 6 of 9
View the Gallery

2012: City develops Ebright Creek Enhancement Plan
The City of Sammamish contracted environmental engineering consulting firm David Evans and Associates, Inc. to produce the Ebright Creek Enhancement Plan, which evaluated the creek from Lake Sammamish to approximately 800 feet upstream of ELSP. The plan listed these issues and recommendations:

  • Issue: The reach just upstream of ELSP was braiding and meandering.
  • Issue: The reach downstream of ELSP to Lake Sammamish was channelized and “incised” by development.
    • Recommendation: regrade in order to: 1) re-establish the floodplain riparian zone, 2) reduce scouring and incision, 3) provide diverse channel habitat, and 4) improve opportunities for spawning.
  • Issue: A portion of the north side of the creek, upstream of ELSP, had been filled in the past.
    • Recommendation: Remove the fill and regrade the north side of the creek in order to: 1) increase riparian wetland-type habitat and 2) reconnect it to the floodplain.
  • Recommendation: Add large woody debris (LWD) structures along approximately __ feet of creek upstream of ELSP. This would add to the enhancement work performed by King County in the 1990’s, and provide habitat diversity and bank stabilization.
  • Issue: The riparian zone along the creek lacked conifers and was overgrown with invasive species.
    • Recommendation: remove invasives, plant natives and over 650 conifers.

2014: The Kokanee Work Group produced a strategic plan to help kokanee.
The Kokanee Work Group produced Blueprint for the Restoration and Enhancement of Lake Sammamish Kokanee Tributaries, which identified specific conservation measures to enhance and protect kokanee habitat around Lake Sammamish. A top priority of the plan was the restoration of Ebright Creek and removal of the culvert barriers.

2017: Removed invasives; planted 2,327 natives.
Mid Sound Fisheries, the Snoqualmie Tribe and Trout Unlimited collaborated with a private land owner to remove invasive species along 600 feet of Ebright creek and replace them with native plants. To ensure success, the Snoqualmie Tribe conducted follow-up maintainance and provided mulch.

Ebright Creek Pereyra project - 9 of 9
View the Gallery

2019: Development of plan to replace the culverts under ELSP.
The City of Sammamish contracted Osborn Consulting, Inc. to develop a final plan to replace the two 30″ culverts at ELSP and restore a portion of the creek in the project vicinity. 

2021: City will remove the culverts and replace them with a fish-passable box culvert.
As discussed aboove, the City of Sammamish will begin construction in June, 2021, and expects to complete it by early fall, in time for kokanee migration in November. 

2022: King County will replace culverts under the East Lake Sammamish Trail.
King County will replace the pipe culverts under the trail with a 14′ wide box culvert.

* The City of Sammamish maintains a web page for the Ebright Creek Fish Passage project to keep the community up to date on every phase of the 2021 project, including regular public presentations and discussions, and comprehensive project documentation. 

Sycamore Restoration Project – Phase 1

Project Description:
This Phase 2 project is a followup to Phase 1 (conducted two years earlier in 2004). The City of Issaquah restored 600 feet of Issaquah Creek in a 4.6 acre area.

Restoration Features:

  • Installed 20 log structures (large woody debris — LWD) in the stream for fish habitat
  • Removed bank fill to improve connection of the stream to the floodplain area
  • Removed invasive plants and replaced with native vegetation.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Sycamore Restoration Project Phase II (View Gallery)

Lewis Creek

About Lewis Creek:

Lewis Creek drains the northern slopes of Cougar Mountain into the south west corner of Lake Sammamish. The 1,000 feet of culverts under the West Lake Sammamish & I-90 interchange have divided the creek into what is referred to as the “upper basin” (not available to migrating fish, located within the city of Bellevue) and “lower Lewis Creek” (the restoration project area, located within the city of Issaquah).

Lower Lewis Creek supports kokanee, sockeye, coho and cutthroat trout.

History of changes to lower Lewis Creek
A saw mill was established on the property in 1889 near the lake shore, and a railroad ran from a pier at the lake shore, southward, to Cougar Mountain. A historic aerial photo of the area taken in 1936 indicates that: 1) the mill and railroad no longer existed by that time, and 2) the land surrounding the lake — as all land in the area — was the victim of deforestation. Remnants of the mill could still be found in the 1960s, including a large sawdust waste pile and lumber several feet thick submerged in Lake Sammamish.

In the 1980s, lower Lewis Creek experienced a large increase in residential development. The stream bed and riparian areas are owned by over 30 separate landowners. Urbanization has increased storm runoff to the creek, resulting in erosion and sedimentation of the channel, degradation of spawning habitat, and deposition of sands and fines at the mouth (the delta), which created a shallow, wide area with no deep pools for rearing. HAS THIS BEEN ADDRESSED YET? NEED PHOTOS AND RECORDS.

Gallery: Lewis Creek
Gallery: Lewis Creek
Gallery: History of Lewis Creek
Gallery: History of Lewis Creek

Goals for Restoration of lower Lewis Creek:

  • Remove any barriers within the reach.
  • Stabilize the eroding channel.
  • Create pools and other stream diversity to improve habitat for kokanee spawning.
  • Reduce fine sediment deposition within the channel.
  • Restore the mouth of the creek to provide rearing habitat for juvenile chinook.

Project Phases

2008: Removal of fish barrier

  • Location: just downstream of SE 44th Street, roughly midway between Lake Sammamish and I-90.
  • The City of Issaquah installed five rock weirs to create a series of steps to allow upstream migration past a two-foot-tall barrier. 

“Phase 1” (2011): Evaluate lower Lewis Creek (DID THEY WORK ON THE DELTA?)

The City of contracted Northwest Hydraulics to develop a restoration plan for the 4,125 feet of lower Lewis Creek. The plan identified four distinct “Reaches.” (See gallery.)

“Phase 2” (2015): Identify and restore the highest priority reach along lower Lewis Creek
Based on the evaluation in Phase 1, the City of Issaquah contracted Northwest Hydraulics to identify and create a restoration plan for the highest priority reach along the creek. Reach 3 was identified as having experienced channel degradation, creek bank erosion, and the loss of much of its fine bed material (gravel sizes 1/4” to 3”), and was selected to be the project area. 

Restoration work conducted on Reach 3:

  • Added Large Wood Debris (LWD) to the stream bed, spaced approximately 20-30 feet apart, to: 1) create pools, 2) promote deposits of smaller gravels, 3) make the channel more resistant to high flows.
    • THE 30% PLAN MENTIONED LATERAL BOULDER WEIRS EMBEDDED INTO THE CHANNEL. DID THIS HAPPEN???
  • Planted native riparian vegetation.

The City of Issaquah worked in partnership with the Meadowbrook Point Homeowners Association.

Gallery: project area overview
Gallery: project area overview
Restoration of Lower Lewis Creek (Click to View Gallery)
Gallery: Restoration work performed

Potential for Future Restoration

  • “Upper reach” restoration:
    • 2,400 feet of creek, starting upstream of the 2015 lower Lewis Creek restoration project up to the culvert at I-90, have yet to be restored to:
      1. Make the channel more resistant to high flows, and
      2. Capture fine gravels suitable for spawning.
  • The Lewis Creek upper basin:
    • The major culverts under the interchange are a barrier to fish migration.
    • The ravine in this basin was characterized in 2014 as being generally steep and unstable, with the potential to provide a limited amount of spawning habitat. 
    • Due to the high cost of upgrading the culvert to a fish passage at the interchange, the upper basin was outside the scope of consideration in 2014.

Squak Valley Park

Features:

  • Removed a streamside levee and restored 6 acres and 1,100 feet of stream.
  • Added wood and wood structures for stream habitat and hydraulic diversity.
  • Planted native riparian vegetation.

 

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Squak Valley Park restoration (Click to View Gallery)

Load More