FINAL SPAWNER REPORT
Spawner season appears to be over, as is Salmon Watch 2009.

A dozen volunteers kept watch Oct. 26 through Nov. 18 and documented a total of 18 coho spawners. Most came in Nov. 8 and 9.

During their shifts, watchers talked with at least 68 visitors to the viewpoint, many of whom came down to the creek for a closer look. Several of those visitors were young people after school or on school holiday.

The spawners appeared healthy and vigorous as they made their way upstream. Volunteer biologist Steev Ward checked daily but was unable to find most of the carcasses, likely because of raccoons or other predators. As a consequence, we don't know how many spawners were released by hatcheries and how many could have originated in this creek. All, however, sensed suitable habitat here.

Also, we can't predict how many fish spawned before they died. We'll be monitoring in late winter/early spring for "home hatch" fry - the best indicator of spawning.

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

 

11/29/2009

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.