Conservation Efforts

Lake Washington/Cedar River Water Shed

The Washington State Cedar River and its tributaries provide some of the best salmon habitat for King County. The Cedar River flows west and northwest from the Cascades, into Lake Washington, through the Ship Canal and Hiram Chittenden Locks eventually reaching the Puget Sound. Protection and maintenance of this vital habitat is critical to protecting Chinook Salmon from becoming extinct.

The federal government approved the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan in January of 2007 and people in the Seattle area are working to implement the recovery of a very important PNW species. The WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan is one of the many conservation efforts geared towards sustaining key salmon habitats in many of Washington's natural water sheds.

(Salmon Habitat Conservation)

http://www.cedarriver.org/the-watershed

WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan

In March 1999, the federal government listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act

''The Final WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan recommends actions to restore and protect habitat that salmon need to survive in the Lake Washington/ Cedar/ Sammamish Watershed. Developed through a collaboration of citizens, scientists, community, business, and environmental groups, local elected officials, and public agency staff, the science-based plan has been ratified by 24 local governments. The intent is to lead the region toward a legacy of healthy, harvestable salmon and improved water quality for future generations." (The Final WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan)

Impacts on a vital Habitat of a threatened Species:

Human development of the WRIA 8 for human has altered Chinook salmon habitat conditions including the processes that maintain them. Listed below are some of the factors that are impacting habitats and goals for the plan from the Lake Washington/Cedar River Watershed website:

• Altered hydrology (e.g., low base flows, higher peak flows following storms, and increased ‘flashiness’, which means more frequent and rapid responses when it rains)  
• Loss of floodplain connectivity (e.g., reduced access to side-channels or off-channel areas due to bank armoring and development close to shorelines)
• Lack of riparian vegetation (e.g., from clearing and development)
• Disrupted sediment processes (e.g., too much fine sediment deposited in urban streams,  or sources of spawning gravel disconnected from the river channel)
• Loss of channel and shoreline complexity (e.g., lack of woody debris and pools)
• Barriers to fish passage (e.g., from road crossings, weirs, and dams
• Degraded water and sediment quality (e.g., pollutants and high temperatures)

 

(The Final WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan )

 

Expected Goals and Benefits of the Plan:

• Healthy salmon populations and habitat
• Ecosystem health, including species diversity, maintenance of native species, and water quality
• Legacy for future generations, including commercial, tribal, and sport fishing and quality of life, which includes cultural heritage
• Legal assurances from federal and state governments to local governments in exchange for commitments to implement the Plan.

(The Final WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan )

 

Volunteer in Your Local Watershed:

Visit the website below to see how you can get involved and volunteer in your local watershed to help preserve key habitat for important PNW wildlife!

http://www.govlink.org/watersheds/8/action/Volunteer.aspx

 

Sources: 

"Salmon Habitat Conservation." Salmon Habitat Conservation. http://www.govlink.org/ watersheds/8/default.aspx. 11 Mar. 2013.