Tis the season… for salmon
Arroyo Creek is one of several salmon waterways in Whatcom County.
If you live in western Washington, chances are you've heard stories about salmon all your life. But when was the last time you got close to one of those beautiful fish and watched it struggle upstream to lay its eggs in the place of its birth? It's a great experience, and a wonder to share with family and visitors.
Now’s the time to get out and salmon-watch. That's what my family did on Thanksgiving this year as we visited Arroyo Creek, just south of Fairhaven/Bellingham on the old Samish Highway. As we approached the creek, we could hear the splashes and see the dark shapes of dozens of chum salmon in the shin-deep water.
Chum salmon average about two feet long and weigh 10 lbs or more. Although they have the most extensive range of all Pacific salmon, they are a largely ignored commercial fish because of their lesser oil content. Like all salmon, they live most of their lives in the ocean and return to their original home stream when it's time to breed. This dependence on healthy streams for breeding makes salmon highly vulnerable to declines in water quality, stream disruption, and culvert construction.
One group working very hard to preserve and encourage salmon in our corner of Washington is NSEA (Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association). There aren’t that many boots-on-the-ground groups dedicated to preserving salmon nationwide, much less counties with such groups. So if you care about salmon, and live in Whatcom County, get to know NSEA. Check out their website to sign up for salmon-related workshops and volunteer opportunties.
Whether you live in Whatcom County or elsewhere in Washington, the best resource I know for seeing where salmon runs will take place is the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's SalmonScape (wa.gov) tool. The site is an interactive computer map that shows active, historical, and potential salmon breeding streams. It's a great tool for landowners, planners and even teachers and parents who want to expose their kids to one of the great biological wonders of our world.
Among the many things that are special about the holiday season, I’m very grateful for the chance to see salmon in our local streams. Let’s not forget to thank God for this wild gift and do what each of us can to protect them.