Stream Stewards Help Protect Local Salmon Streams
by Lucy Applegate

The Stream Stewards groups in Mount Vernon and Sedro Woolley have been very busy this summer. On June 5 the Trumpeter Creek Stream Stewards and other volunteers gathered at Mark Knutsen's property on College Way to remove 12 cubic yards of trash from Logan Creek in Mount Vernon. This creek is home to coho salmon and cutthroat trout, and its small size makes it susceptible to blockage by relatively small amounts of garbage.

Stream Stewards volunteers removed 12 cubic yards of trash
from Logan Creek in Mount Vernon.

On August 28 volunteers from both the Trumpeter and Brickyard Creek Stream Stewards joined new volunteers and residents of Logan Park Apartments to remove garbage from Sedro Woolley's Brickyard Creek. Although in some places it's hard to tell Brickyard Creek is actually a salmon-bearing stream, there are places where coho salmon return year after year. Constant work is needed, however, to keep this stream clean and hospitable for future generations of salmon and other wildlife. Thank you to Fred Buckenmeyer at the City of Mount Vernon and Leo Jacobs at the City of Sedro Woolley for donating the use of dumpsters and disposal service for these events. Such partnerships are crucial to community-building events like these.

Volunteers of all ages explored Brickyard Creek during their watershed tour.

WDFW Biologist Kurt Buchanan suggests ways to improve salmon habitat in Logan Creek in Mount Vernon’s Stonebridge neighborhood.

Stream Stewards is a 9-month workshop series geared to residents living within specific watersheds in Skagit County. Through a series of workshops residents learn about their local stream, the wildlife connected to it, and ways they can get directly involved in keeping their stream healthy. Both groups began by touring the watershed in which they live. Participants visited the headwaters of their neighborhood streams and followed their paths to the Skagit River, learning about land uses and stream conditions at several places in between. Experts from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies have delivered presentations about salmon life histories, biology, and habitat requirements. Upcoming workshop topics this fall will include field sampling of macroinvertebrates and understanding local Critical Areas Ordinances. Stream Stewards "graduates" will complete the workshop series equipped with a greater understanding of and appreciation for their salmon stream. By contributing 40 hours of volunteer service in exchange for the training, participants become actively engaged in the conservation and restoration of their streams.

SFEG Board member Tim Hyatt explains the importance of in-stream structure
to healthy salmon habitat in Klahowya Creek.

The current two Stream Stewards workshops are funded by the Puget Sound Acton Team's Public Involvement and Education fund, and by the City of Mount Vernon. For information on future Stream Stewards workshops in your area, contact SFEG at 336-0172 or lapplegate@skagitfisheries.org.