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SalmonGram Winter 2009

The South Puget Sound Salmon Enhance-ment Group (SPSSEG) is a local voice for regional salmon recovery. From the highest

peak in the Cascades, to the fertile shorelinesand estuaries of Puget Sound, we restoresalmon habitat with willing landowners. We believe that by collab-orating with local communities, schools, and individuals in King,Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, and Mason Counties, we can increase

salmon numbers in our rivers and streams. Working closely withlocal, state, federal, and tribal agencies, we provide education op-

portunities, technical assistance, and pursue grant funding to ndwin-win solutions for people and salmon. Our non-pro t, non-gov -ernment, and non-political status helps us accomplish what govern-mental agencies alone cannot do: get real results, real quick.

We are dedicated staff, board, and volunteers who are making adifference in local watersheds. SPSSEG has accomplished a greatdeal in the past 18 years: we have hosted over 30,000 people at theKennedy Creek Salmon Trail; we have restored access for salmonto nearly 100 miles of streams; we have planted thousands of nativeriparian trees and shrubs; and we have improved miles of produc-tive stream habitat, all while keeping the best interest of people andsh in mind.

In the past few years we have been heavily involved in both near-shore and freshwater restoration. However, two of our largest

projects next summer will occur far away from the marine envi-ronment. The multi-million Ohop and Greenwater River projectswill both dramatically improve habitat in two distinctly differentwatersheds. SPSSEG seems to be busier than ever planning andimplementing bene cial salmon projects. Restoration is a year-round process that never ends. The upcoming construction seasonwill be a true testament to how much on-the-ground work a smallnon-pro t Regional Fishery Enhancement Group can actually ac -complish in a given year. We have de nitely set lofty goals for ourselves in 2009 and we are fully expecting to be successful andmake a difference in our community.

Lance Winecka Cover: The upper White River flows clear through the winter months, hiding its glacial origin on Mt. Rainier.

SalmonGram is published twice per year by the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group (SPSSEG), a 501(c)3non-pro t, volunteer-based organization that conducts salmon habitat restoration, salmon enhancement, and communityeducation to increase salmonid populations in the South Puget Sound Region.

The SPSSEG is one of fourteen Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups created in 1989 by the Washington State Legisla-ture. The Regional Fishery Enhancement Program is partially supported by surcharges on sport and commercial shinglicenses. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife provides technical and administrative support to the program.

Message from theExecutive Director

Board of DirectorsThe SPSSEG is administered by a nine-mem-ber volunteer board elected by the generalmembership.

Sally Hicks PresidentTim Layton Vice President

Dan Wrye Treasurer Jack Havens Secretary

Terry WrightBlake Smith

Duane Fagergren Joe Williams

Sta

Lance Winecka Executive DirectorChristine Garst Accounts Manager

Kristin Williamson Project ManagerEli Asher Project Manager

Kimberlie Gridley Project ManagerSarah Clarke O ce Assistant

Contact

6700 Martin Way East, Suite 112Olympia , WA 98516Phone: (360) 412-0808

www.spsseg.org

Message from the Director.............2Ode to Contractors..........................3Kennedy Creek.................................4Partner Spotlight: WCC..................5Pirates Cove..................................... 6Construction Wrap-Up....................8Puget Sound Partnership..............10Annual Meeting..............................11

This Issue:

SalmonGram 11 Winter 2009

Show Your Support! Join or Renew with SPSSEG Today! A One Year Individual Membership is Only $15

and is tax deductible. Name______________________________________

Street______________________________________

City________________ State_____ Zip_________

Email______________________________________

Please Return form to SPSSEG6700 Martin Way East, Suite 112

Olympia, WA 98516

Individual Membership.......................................................................$15Family Membership.........................................................................$25Business Membership................................................................$200Corporate Sponsorship.........................................................$500Other Tax-Deductible Donation........................................$_____

For our state employed supporters: Please donate to SPSSEG through the Combined Fund Drive.

P lease join us at our Annual Meeting on January22nd, 2008 as we celebrate yet another success-ful year of salmon recovery efforts in South PugetSound!

This year wewelcome key-note speakersBilly Frank Jr. and DavidDicks of thePuget SoundPartnership asthey roll out thePartnershipsAction Agendato restore PugetSound by 2020. Wewill also present our 2008 accomplishments, voteon changing our bylaws, elect new board members

and unveil the new SPSSEG logo! Each year we

look forward to this event to recognize our vmembers role in helping us carry out our miof increasing salmon populations in South Pu

Sound throhabitat rest

and commeducation.

The meetin be held fro pm to 8:30the Lacey munity Cenraf e highli

prizes donalocal businwill be hel

the meeting anmeal will be served. For more information, visit our website at www.spsseg.org.

Well see you there!

2009 Annual Meeting

Billy Frank, Jr. David Dicks


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Completed FFFPP projectsmanaged by SPSSEG:

WRIA 14 (Kennedy-Goldsborough Watershed):McDonald Projects (three projects)Gosnell Creek TributaryFrye Cove Creek Perry Creek TributarySchneider Creek TributaryWRIA 15 (Key Peninsula):Rocky Creek Tributaries (two projects)Huge Creek WRIA 11 (Nisqually Watershed):Kronis Creek (Little Mashel Tributary)McKenna Creek

The Kennedy Creek SalmonTrail (KCST) is one of the

best places to see salmonspawning in the PugetSound region. In a typicalyear about 40,000 chumsalmon return home to

spawn in Kennedy Creek.In 2002 over 80,000 splash-ing chum ooded 2.5 milesof stream. It is truly anamazing natural phenome -non to observe so many shin such a small watershed.Unfortunately, at an estimat-ed 13,000 spawners, returnsthis year were well belowthe 10-year average butKennedy Creek still offered

plenty of viewing opportu-nities for the community.Check out our website blog:

www.spsseg.org to followthe changes at the Trail throughout the season.

The publicity for the Trail was outstanding this year.We are very fortunate to have support from our regional newspaper, The Olympian, and writers JohnDodge and Chester Allen to help spread the wordabout the KCST. Th is year the Trail was also fea-tured on numerous outdoor websites, The Olympian,The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, and even Sun-set Magazine! Hopefully the newfound publicityrecruited and engaged people from across the Soundto come out during a rainy November day to see for themselves what all of the hype is about.

Each year 40-50 volunteer docents help staff theTrail during the spawning season. Our volunteersdo a fabulous job engaging the public and provid-ing information about the salmon lifecycle. Duringthe 2008 season, the trail was open from November 1st-30 th and all of the available mid-week time slotswere lled with eager teachers and students interest -

ed in learning more aboutchum salmon. Each year teachers call earlier in theyear to make reservationsin time to include KCSTin their science curricu-lum. Many community

members also took ad-vantage of the moderateweekend weather to visitthe Trail. We even brokea one-day attendance re-cord with over 600 peoplecounted in just six hours!About 5,000 people vis-ited the Trail throughoutthe month.

Identifying and securingsustainable funding for theTrail is always an important

priority for all of the project

partners involved. In order to help fund the KCST program in 2008, SPSSEGand Mason Conservation District staff hosted the 1 st annual Splash fundraising event. In total, about 75

people attended Splash and we recruited several gen-erous corporate sponsorships including Taylor Shell-sh Farms, Entrix, Contech, Kennedy Creek Quarry,Mason Transit Authority, Fisheries Consultants, andGreen Diamond Resources. SPSSEG would also liketo thank all of the people who volunteered on oneof the hottest days of the year (about 95 degrees)!Thank you to all for helping raise funds that maintainand enhance this great program! Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail is always in need of funding so please

plan to attend the festive 2 nd annual Splash event to

be held during summer 2009. Finally, we cant writea thank-you big enough to Taylor Shell sh Farms,which owns the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail proper-ty and provides the community access in November.THANK YOU!

Cross your ngers for a big 2009 chum run!

Kennedy Creek 2008


Season Wrap-Up With a lean construction budget in hand, SPSSMason County solicited bids for the HiawaCulvert Replacement project in late springfunding from SRFB and Mason County, a crewRV Associates replaced an undersized concretewith a 20 wide aluminum arch culvert, restorin

passage to this formerly productive chum strealate November, monitoring contractors hired by

had documented chum passage and spawning ustream of the culvert, demonstrating immediatee ts of the project.

As fall weather descended upon the NorthwestSPSSEG project manager Eli Asher spent a moworth of nights working with a dedicated crewRV Associates to complete the Pirates Covration project before Thanksgiving. Funded band the Washington State Department of Ecolo

project vastly increased the quantity and qualitChinook rearing habitat in the Pirates Cove lagThe project is highlighted on pages 6 and 7 of newsletter.

Above: Curt Holt of Aquatic Contracting removesthe defunct Powell Creek culvert. Below: the nishedHiawata Creek culvert


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Partner Spotlight: Washington Conservation Corps

SPSSEG Brand Updated

A fter months of debate and deliberation, the SPSSEG Board of Directors approved an updated logo that will be used on letterhead, business cards,and other organizational materials. This is part of an ongoing effort to increas

organizational visibility and sustainability. The SPSSEG website (www.spsseorg) has also been revamped to provide a convenient portal into the organization. As we make the transition, expect changes in our stationery, web presenemail correspondence, and fundraising efforts. The changes are being facili-tated by consultants from Non Pro t Solutions and The Williams Group, both whom have extensive experience in organizational development with non-progroups like SPSSEG.

For many years, the Washington Conservation Corps(WCC) has been a valuable partner to SPSSEG. Wehave sponsored WCC year-long individual internshipsin our of ce for the past three years, providing internswith opportunities to organize restoration plantings,

participate in scienti c monitoring, and other resume

building activities.

The Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) was cre-ated in 1983 as a program within the Washing-ton Department of Ecology, and is currently partof the nationwide AmeriCorps Program. Eachyear, the WCC provides thousands of hours of service to protect and enhance Washingtonsmost valuable natural resources. Additionally,WCC Members attend a series of trainingsthroughout their year of service (e.g. WildernessFirst Responder, Ethnobotany, and GIS/GPS).WCC has 135 members located statewide whoreceive a modest stipend and, upon completionof a year of service, an AmeriCorps Education

Award.

This year SPSSEG has expanded our relation-ship with the WCC to include a temporary ve

person crew for speci c project work. The crew, based at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, built aconcrete walking bridge in the Nisqually PinesCommunity in Yelm and will be helping to re-

furbish a community foot trail at the recently ced Pirates Cove Restoration Project. The WCGetting Things Done, rings true in every prothey touch. Thanks to the crews and interns foryour help over the years! Keep up the great wo

Learn more by visiting the WCC Homepage: hwww.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/wcc/

A WCC crew builds forms for the Nisqually Pines pr


T he summer of 2008 proved to be challenging for SPSSEG construction projects and their man-agers, as permitting processes changed, fuel costsspiraled upward, and eleventh-hour negotiationsthreatened to derail construction.

After many years of development and anticipation,

SPSSEG completed one of a suite of four projectsin Frye Cove , a small bay in Eld Inlet. With major funding from the Salmon Recovery Funding Board(SRFB) and additional funding from the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Fishand Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), a large concrete

block bulkhead that jutted into the tideland was set back to the toe of the bluff and softened with largewood and boulders. SPSSEG will continue work inthis small watershed over coming years to improvehabitat and reintroduce salmon to previously inacces-sible stream reaches.

Kristin Williamson ably managed the Kronis Creek Culvert Replacement project through completion.Funded by the Family Forest Fish Passage Program(FFFPP) and constructed by Mike McClung Con-struction, the project replaced a 24 diameter concrete

pipe with an 119 diameter galvanized steel ellipseculvert to improve sh passage and restore naturalstream hydrology. Kronis Creek is a tributary to theLittle Mashel river on the Colburg Tree Farm near Eatonville.

The Nisqually Pines project kept a Washington Con-servation Corps crew busy for several weeks, provingWCCs value once again as a project partner. Funded

by NFWF and South Sound Fly shers, and man -aged by Kimberlie Gridley, the crew replaced a 24diameter culvert with a 12-foot concrete footbridgeover Walden Creek in the Nisually Pines Community

Wildlife Corridor, allowing off-channel access to juvenile salmonids and providing a communityshowcase of stewardship.

In partnership with the Nisqually Land Trust,and funded by the Paci c Salmon Commis -sion, USFWS, and the SRFB, an AquaticContracting crew removed three sh barrier culverts and one over ow culvert on PowellCreek . The project also removed a defunct

bridge abutment and associated rip-rap adja-

cent to the Nisqually River, and decommis-sion 2,900 feet of private road. The project provides sh passage to Powell Creek for spawning salmonids and increased hydrologicconnectivity from the Powell Creek wetlandcomplex to the Nisqually River.

2008 Construction

Workers assemble the new Hiawata Creek culvert

Frye Cove bulkhead retro t in progress


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R esidents of Pirates Cove, a private communitynear Grapeview, are rightfully proud of their newly restored beach. The construction project,which was funded by the Salmon Recovery FundingBoard and the Washington Department of Ecology,rebuilt a quarter-mile long tidal spit that protectedthe Pirates Cove lagoon from the wind and waves of Case Inlet. When the heavy equipment nally left the

beach, the community was able to see what their spitlooked like over fty years ago before it was modi -ed to impound water at low tide.

After a protracted permitting process, SPSSEGsolicited bids from contractors in the fall, awardedthe contract to RV Associates of Port Orchard, and

began construction in mid October. Since the projectarea is largely inundated by tidewater at all but thelowest tides, construction was limited to nighttimetide cycles, requiring a tireless crew, powerful work

lights, and tolerant neighbors. The excavator, bull-dozer, front-end loader, roller, and trucks rumbledthrough the night for three weeks to complete the

project before winter storms whipped waves againstthe spit.

Local residents endured the midnight noise and lightswith admirably good humor, visiting the beach duringdaylight hours to see the previous nights progress.During especially critical or interesting construction

phases, community members held informal viewing parties on decks and patios, serving hot chocolate lateinto the night to ward off the autumn chill.

The goals for the projectwere simple: remove aroad that had been builtacross the historic mouthof the lagoon, and ll alarge breach in the spitcaused by a failed tide weir and exacerbated by yearsof erosion. The biologicalrationale for the project is a

bit more complex, buildingupon years of research inthe South Sound that indi-

cates that small, protectedlagoons and estuaries, col-lectively known as pocket

estuaries, provide valuableforage and shelter for young Chinook salmon on the

journey from their natal streams to the Paci c Ocean.

Now that the lagoon has been returned to its former size and shape, Pirates Cove residents have begunthe business of restoring plant and animal communi-

Community Based Habitat

We are so fortunate to have this beautiful part of Puget Sound to call home...it is back the way it was meant to be...

The RV Associates crew prepares a stockpile for an incoming tide.


Finished Pirates Cove spit at low tide.

estoration: Pirates Cove

Next Nearshore Steps ties that were disturbed during construction. Volun-teers will transplant dune grass, yarrow, and silver

burweed from undisturbed spit areas into the newlylled area. Working with a local shell sh farmer,the community will also reseed clam and oyster

beds that provide recreation, food, and water quality

bene ts.

Community members have also kept a close watchon the lagoon in the weeks following construction.One year-round resident exclaimed ...everythinglooks so beautiful. It is back the way it was meant to

be and we have seen several salmon jumping insidethe lagoon the past few weeks. That has to be agood sign.

With warmer weather just aroundthe bend, SPSSEG and the PiratesCove community are workingover the winter to improve trailaccess to the newly restored beach

and lagoon and nish other ameni -ties before seasonal residents andschool-age kids return for summer recreation.

B ased upon the ndings of a comprehensive nshore habitat assessment, SPSSEG is develoing restoration treatments to address limiting habfactors on the shoreline reach between the NisquDelta and Point De ance. Anchor Environmentalwas selected through a competitive process to assSPSSEG with development and design of restoraconcepts. Several areas have been selected as reration priorities, including Titlow Lagoon, ChambBay and Sequalitchew Creek Estuary. Over the nfew months SPSSEG will be working with Anchto develop viable restoration options for high prioity projects that will result in restoration or rehabtation of nearshore processes.

SPSSEG, in partnership with Metro Parks, Peoplfor Puget Sound, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, andPierce County, has been working to formulate resration actions for Titlow Lagoon in one of Tacom

premiere city parks. The goal is to restore the nat productivity of the lagoon to support juvenile salnids while restoring a natural estuarine ecosystem

the heart of Tacoma as an education showpiece fothe community.

For updates on the Titlow Lagoon project, contacKristin Williamson at the SPSSEG of ce.

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