WHAT ARE THE FISH DOING?

Watershed residents and visitors ask this question a lot. Although we're months away from spawning season (between Halloween and Thanksgiving), juvenile coho in Fauntleroy Creek are busy.

Since our spring "home hatch" from last fall's spawning and May releases of salmon from area schools, fry have been engaged in the ancient struggle to live and thrive. Their job is to find enough food to grow from about 1.25" at the time of release into fingerlings (2.5"-3") and then into smolts (4"-5") by next spring.

Of the roughly 2,000 fry in the creek by June 1, only 1% to 2% will survive to leave for saltwater. That's in line with estimates of coho survival in the wild. What happens to the rest? Washouts during heavy rain, inadequate food, the occasional predator. It's truly survival of the fittest.

INTO THE WILD
Salmon release season concluded May 27 after 15 field trips to put coho fry into Fauntleroy Creek. A total of 497 youngsters, from preschool through fifth grade, released 2,160 fry into the wild and explored habitat near the creek.

The fry will spend almost a year in fresh water, growing into fingerlings and then smolts, ready for two years in saltwater. The monitoring of out-migration that began April 1 documented 25 smolts leaving this year. That's several more than last year.

Experts estimate the coho survival rate from fry to smolt in the wild is 1 percent to 2 percent. With 25 surviving out of the 1,936 released in 2009, Fauntleroy Creek habitat is in the game, at just over 1 percent.

2009 ANNUAL REPORT AVAILABLE
To learn more about activities of the Fauntleroy Watershed Council, have a look at the newly published 2009 annual report. It's posted at www.fauntleroy.net or you can pick up a copy at the Fauntleroy Food Fest (March 23, 6 PM, the Hall at Fauntleroy).

The report summarizes projects and actions on behalf of Fauntleroy Creek, Fauntleroy Park, and Fauntleroy Cove. They include restoration, streamside education, and outreach to watershed residents about water-quality concerns.

If you might want to have a hand in this important and interesting work by joining the Council, contact Judy Pickens at judy_pickens@msn.com or 938-4203 for more information.

FENTON GLEN PROJECT UNDER WAY
Restoration of last bit of creek channel is now on the drawing board. Natural Systems Design, an engineering firm specializing in urban-creek restoration, began planning the Fenton Glen project in June, and native-plant specialist Steve Richmond (GardenCycles) has started eradication of invasive plants throughout the site, which borders the east end of the Fauntleroy Church parking lot.

The project will restore 100' of mainstem and tributary channel, remove aggressive invasives, and revegetate with native species that retain the character of the garden site while filtering runoff and enhancing habitat.

Use of an aquatic herbicide on the yellow archangel that blankets the site cannot happen until spring, and more than one application may be needed prior to work on the channel. Watch for notice of a public meeting before any herbicide is used.

Grants from the City of Seattle, King Conservation District, and King County are funding the bulk of the $51,850 project.

SMOLTS, STUDENTS ALL GONE
The annual documenting of coho smolts leaving the creek ended May 31 with a total of 18 passing through our trap en route to saltwater. All made their getaway during April. This total is one more than last year but a few less than in 2006 and 2007. The coho survival rate in the wild, from hatch to out-migration, is estimated at 1% to 2%. Our data show that Fauntleroy Creek is comparable, at about 1%.

The last of 15 salmon-release field trips was May 28. Nearly 500 youngsters visited the watershed for these events, releasing just under 2,000 fry to grow in the upper creek over the next year.

Thanks to volunteers Steev Ward for taking the lead on the out-migration study, Judy Pickens for leading release field trips, and Phil Sweetland for aiding with field-trip hospitality at the fish ladder.

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FINAL RESTORATION PROJECT
We have received word that the last of the financing needed to restore the last degraded reach of the beach will soon be in hand.

On March 23, the board of supervisors of the King Conservation District approved an $11,575 grant toward restoration of Fenton Glen, which abuts the east end of the Fauntleroy Church parking lot. This award, together with grants from the City of Seattle and King County, will fund what is expected to be a $93,000 undertaking.

We'll kick off the project as soon as contracts are signed, which we hope is by mid April.

Interpretive Sign
If you haven't already, take a look at our first-ever interpretive sign about Fauntleroy Creek, newly installed along the pedestrian walkway to the ferry.

Funded by the last of a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, the sign focuses on the "reach-to-the-beach" project but also provides basic information about the creek and watershed. Most striking is a watercolor of the reach by nationally known artist Karen Brussat Butler (mother of creek neighbor Elizabeth Butler).

Special thanks to Elizabeth for getting the project done, to Ware Lantz for fabricating a no-fail mounting, and to ferry-terminal staff for doing the installation and kindly agreeing to "host" the sign.

Plant give-away

Steve Richmond (left), owner of GardenCycles and a contractor working in Fauntleroy Park, instructs park neighbors in how to install native plants.  The plant giveaway on Feb. 22, hosted by Steve Bomkamp (second from left), boosted the number and diversity of native plants in several residential landscapes - plus Fauntleroy Church - around the rim of the park.  Photo courtesy David Follis.

 

Spawning Salmon Movie

 

08/22/2010

A SERVICE OF THE FAUNTLEROY WATERSHED COUNCIL

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Artwork Credit:

Here interpreted by artist Richard Sleight, the "salmon-trout's head" ovoid captures the central importance of salmonids (both salmon and their trout cousins) to northern Coast Salish culture. It is often used as the eye in a complex image, with proportions varying according to space and the artist's intentions.