For our Daily Bucket today: the latest in my intermittent local news series.
October 2022
NEWS FROM THE SALISH SEA, PACIFIC NORTHWEST
The Salish Sea is a bioregion in western North America, composed of an inland waterway, many islands, and the surrounding watershed of towering forested mountains, big rivers and their floodplains.
This bioregion has a mild climate and diverse habitats, but the wealth of nature and wildlife is threatened by human activity and population pressure. Metropolitan development occupies much of the lowlands, from Olympia, Washington through Seattle, Everett, Bellingham and north into Vancouver, British Columbia.
Anthropogenic climate change is amplifying environmental problems here as elsewhere.
HERE ARE RECENT STORIES EXPLORING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITY IN THIS REGION.
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Salmon have a major ecological role in the Pacific Northwest. As an anadromous species, their migration from freshwater to the ocean and back supports many components of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems:
- On their journey to the ocean, more than 50 per cent of their diet is insects which fall into streams from surrounding tree canopies (Allan et al. 2003, Baxter et al. 2005). Without Pacific salmon, there would be the potential for an explosion of insects, as salmon are the main insect predator in aquatic environments.
- When salmon return to their native streams to
spawn, their energy-rich carcasses and eggs are consumed by a variety of predators in coastal watersheds, including wolves, bears, and scavenging birds.
- Salmon support populations of eagles, gulls, sea birds and more by providing them with nutrients essential for overwinter survival and migrations. Pacific salmon populations are important for the survival of diverse and large assemblages of resident and migratory birds, and their disappearance would mean the decline of many bird species (Field and Reynolds 2012).
- Salmon are an important source of nutrients for bears in coastal watersheds as well. The population density of bears can be up to 20 times greater in areas where salmon are abundant, versus areas where they do not occur (Reimchen 2000).
- Salmon play a significant role in the survival of
certain ocean species during their time in salt water. For example, the Chinook salmon are the primary prey for the southern resident killer whale.
- When salmon die at the end of their life cycle, their carcasses provide valuable nutrients to streams and rivers, providing a significant increase in organic matter and nutrients which is believed to enhance the productivity of the surrounding ecosystem (Holtgrieve and Schindler 2011). These nutrients are transferred to all levels of the food chain, and in some cases, species adjust their survival strategies to capitalize on the additional resources (Holtgrieve and Schindler 2011).
salmon: a keystone species
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Here are recent stories from the Pacific Northwest highlighting two of the threats to salmon survival: during their migration to ocean, and their return to rivers. The first story describes efforts to reverse destructive land policy, the second story is about the effect of climate change on return salmon migration.
Restoring wetlands
When white settlers arrived in the Northwest their goal was to use the land to generate income, and that meant changing the natural landscape in order to extract resources from forests, rivers, wetlands, mountains, and wildlife populations.
Coastal wetlands were diked, drained and filled for agriculture, industry and residential use. In recent decades, there have been projects to restore many of these wetlands. One benefit is the support of juvenile salmon on their way to the ocean.
At 353 acres, the Port of Everett’s Blue Heron Slough restoration project is among the largest along the Puget Sound. Near completion, the project joins two nearby restoration projects at Smith Island and Qwuloolt marsh to create over 1,000 acres of recovered estuary.
At the center of this effort is an attempt to restore struggling salmon populations.
Juvenile Chinook salmon rely on lower estuary habitat to gear up for survival. Here, fish go through a process where their scales harden and change. They prepare to head into a different ecosystem — the ocean — and the most dangerous time of their life thus far.
If there’s not access to enough estuary habitat, fish get pushed right into the marine environment and their survival rate plummets.
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Over the years, about 85% of the “vital estuary habitat” in the Snohomish River delta was disconnected, primarily for agriculture. That accounts for the potential loss of up to 1.6 million Chinook smolt annually, according to a 2020 report by the Northwest Treaty Tribes.
It’s a similar story across the region, where agricultural interests have at times been at odds with salmon habitat.
What has happened in the Snohomish River delta has been replicated at other northern rivers, including the Nooksack, Samish, Stillaguamish and Skagit deltas. The Puget Sound Partnership, a state agency, has reported that these areas “have experienced the greatest absolute loss of tidal wetlands and recovery at the Puget Sound.”
Today, local and state agencies have found some workarounds that aim to balance salmon habitat and the viability of local agriculture.
Puget Sound salmon habitat restored with tribes leading the way
More resources on this:
PORT OF EVERETT, WILDLANDS NEAR COMPLETION ON 353-ACRE SNOHOMISH RIVER ESTUARY PROJECT
snohomishcountywa.gov/...
Climate change drought
Forecasts of the effects of global anthropogenic climate change on our regional weather include a wetter warmer winter season with less snowpack in the mountains, and a longer, hotter, drier summer season. Looking at local annual temperature and precipitation records for recent decades, we are already seeing that general trend, and it’s having a direct impact on salmon survival.
This year our summer and early fall precipitation has been far below normal, with temperatures above average. Of course there will always be variability in weather from year to year (eg. the 2021 rainy season started earlier than average) but overall, we can expect to see this pattern more often. As a consequence of our exceptionally dry summer, many rivers are running far below normal which means salmon can’t swim up streams to spawn.
Current streamflow data:
The National Park Service issued an order last week closing recreational fishing on most Olympic National Park rivers.
NPS Press Release, October 6:
To protect several fish populations during the ongoing severe low-flow conditions, an emergency closure of recreational fishing will begin on October 6 at 12:01 am. The following river systems within Olympic National Park will close to all recreational fishing until further notice: Ozette, Bogachiel, South Fork Calawah, Sol Duc, North Fork Sol Duc, Dickey, Quillayute, Hoh, South Fork Hoh, Queets, Salmon, and Quinault Rivers (including East Fork, North Fork, Main Stem). Additionally, Cedar, Goodman, Kalaloch, and Mosquito Creeks within Olympic National Park are closed as of 12:01 AM October 6, 2022.
This year’s severe drought conditions have reduced river flows to at or near historic low levels. This emergency closure is designed to protect fish in areas where severe conditions have reduced river flows to historical low levels. Low water conditions may impede upstream spawning migrations and also increase the vulnerability of salmonids to angling as fish concentrate in smaller and smaller pools. The broad application of this closure is necessary to address angling pressure during these extreme low-flow conditions to better protect Pacific salmon, steelhead trout, and federally threatened bull trout in the park’s rivers and creeks. This closure is consistent with our cooperative managers.
Emergency Closure of Recreational Fishing in Most Rivers and Streams of Olympic National Park to Begin on October 6
Government regulatory agencies have a critical role in monitoring and managing fisheries. Earlier this fall, by order of the Washington DFW and Oregon DFW: All salmon fishing now closed below Bonneville Dam (ie, the lower Columbia River) due to excessive recreational catches of federally threatened (Endangered Species Act) Chinook salmon. A portion of the lower Columbia was reopened later in September. Back in February: In Unprecedented Move, Washington State Announces Full Emergency Closure of Steelhead Fishing on Coastal Rivers Citing much lower-than-expected returns, WDFW and local tribes shut the entire Washington coast to steelhead fishing, starting in March
But extreme drought and other effects of human activity mean policy measures are often trying to play catch-up with what’s happening with salmon. Canadian fish management is having the similar problems.
In British Columbia, a run of pink and chum salmon were stranded by low water and died en masse on a creek earlier in October. A brief rainfall misled the salmon into heading upstream where continuing drought left water levels too low for them to go anywhere.
Housty says a brief afternoon rain 10 days ago, coupled with a high tide, gave the salmon a false signal to start.
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Salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest have been declining for the past 150 years due to human activity. It’s critical to take action now on every front to slow the decline for the health of ecosystems across the region.
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THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
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Cool, hazy and dry in the PNW islands today, temps in the 50s. Smoky skies: wildfires in the Cascades continue to burn. Calm wind. Still no rain.
WHAT’S UP IN NATURE IN YOUR AREA TODAY?