photos courtesy of Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
DAN SANDSTROM, FISHERIES TECHNICIAN FOR THE PUYALLUP TRIBE, FILLS A FEEDER.
For more than a decade the Puyallup Tribe of Indians has been trying to jump start natural salmon production in the upper Puyallup watershed.
This year the Tribe is raising 200,000 juvenile chinook in an earthen rearing pond on Rushingwater Creek, a tributary to the Puyallup River as it flows through the foothills of Mt. Rainier. The Tribe will place young chinook in the pond until they are acclimated to the creek, and then release them. “After three or so years in the ocean, a portion of these fish will come back to the upper watershed and spawn,” said Blake Smith, enhancement biologist for the Tribe.
For almost 100 years, a low-lying dam prevented chinook and other salmon from accessing the last 30 miles of habitat in the watershed. But when a fish ladder was built around the dam, the Tribe started taking steps to boost natural salmon production in the upper watershed.
In addition to releasing juvenile fish, the Tribe also takes surplus adult chinook and coho salmon from a state hatchery in the watershed and releases them in upper river tributaries. “The majority of the fish find each other and spawn,” Blake Smith said. “Every little bit we can do contributes to a robust run up here.”
“The state’s salmon hatchery in this part of the watershed was damaged in a flood, so they’re producing fewer chinook than they used to,” Blake Smith said.
Compared to the rest of the watershed, which has been significantly harmed by development, the upper watershed’s salmon spawning and rearing habitat is relatively undisturbed. “The great habitat in the upper watershed means it shouldn’t take long for salmon to re-establish themselves,” Blake Smith said. “One of the key elements to strong salmon runs is healthy habitat.”
