OPINION: Salmon run shows restoring habitat worth the effort

This editorial was published in The Seattle Times.

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Many of the Puget Sound region’s rivers and creeks recently have rippled with thick runs of salmon. Fall chum are returning to spawn in their highest numbers in at least a decade, to the delight of everyone from local anglers to feasting bald eagles. All three pods of southern resident orcas are outstaying their usual time in these inland waters.

It’s too early to cast definitive conclusions for this remarkable season. But it should hearten those working to resurrect dwindling salmon populations — and remind state lawmakers why those efforts must continue.

That includes a multibillion-dollar state program to replace inadequate culverts under state highways to allow for greater salmon habitat access. Spurred by local tribes as fish populations plummeted, a federal injunction required the state’s Transportation Department to complete habitat restoration work by 2030. The Times editorial board has urged the Legislature to pursue projects in watersheds with the most potential gains in salmon numbers.

Many of the state’s culvert replacements are constructed within waterways that have other blockages that will continue to prevent salmon from returning, a Seattle Times analysis found. But one project near Bremerton shows what is possible when property owners, tribes and governments at every level come together to restore a watershed.

Over more than a decade, culverts and other blockages above and below Chico Creek, as well as on its tributaries, have been removed. State officials finally tackled the greatest remaining choke point — two 8-by-8 box culverts running under the lanes of state Highway 3 — in the creek’s mouth to the saltwater Sound.

It took more than three years and $58 million to construct a 200-foot-long bridge that allows Chico Creek to meander freely below the highway for the first time in decades — and give fish natural access to about 22 miles of upstream habitat. It opened just in time this fall for the strongest return of chum salmon in years.

The reasons for the surging salmon runs are likely a mix including lower ocean temperatures and increased food availability in the marine environment. Improved habitat in rivers and streams, though, is an integral part of the solution. The next generation hatched after this fall’s chum will have more tranquil, cool places to start life, leading to higher likelihoods those increased numbers will survive.

“It won’t just make this a big fall run,” said Josh Bagley, vice chairperson of the Suquamish Tribe. “But it will help make runs bigger in the future.”

A key reason 28 species of salmon are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act is because of a loss of habitat at the hands of human development. More partnerships between the state’s work and private landowners, tribes and local governments can maximize habitat restoration at a critical time. The work will ensure streams will be rippling with salmon fins in the years to come.

TNS