Endangered
Species Recovery
Chinook salmon and bull
trout throughout Whatcom County are listed as threatened under the
federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). By federal law, the
County must take steps to protect and recover these runs.
There are a multitude of factors responsible
for the decline in salmon populations, not only for the two listed
species of fish, but also for other species of fish that are native
to local fresh and marine waters. Some factors, such as poor
ocean conditions, are natural and beyond our control. Other
factors, however, have resulted directly from human activities such
as water withdrawals, forestry, agriculture, urban and industrial
development, dams, riverbank protection, marine shoreline protection,
fishing, and hatcheries. 
Rapid population growth and economic development have exacerbated
impacts to fish habitat, such as increased stream temperatures due
to removal of streamside vegetation, and have often created or perpetuated
conditions unfavorable to maintaining or restoring healthy salmon
populations.
There are four pieces
to the County's salmon recovery program:
- Participation in salmon recovery and watershed management planning
and project implementation for the Nooksack River and adjacent
streams.
- Working with local citizen stakeholders to develop salmon recovery
project grant applications.
- Technical assistance on salmon habitat recovery to other Public
Works divisions, to County departments, and to the public.
- Public outreach and education.
 The
Salmon Recovery Plan
Together with the Lummi
Nation and Nooksack
Tribe, City of Bellingham
and other local governments, state and federal agencies, non-profit
organizations, and the public, Whatcom County has developed a long-term
salmon
recovery plan to ensure the protection and restoration of healthy
local salmon populations. The local plan developed to recover salmon
in Whatcom County is part of a regional salmon recovery plan known
as the Puget
Sound Salmon Recovery Plan. The draft Puget Sound plan was
submitted to NOAA Fisheries and US Fish and Wildlife Service in
June 2005 for review, and in January 2006, was tentatively approved
as the official ESA recovery plan.
Coordination with the
Watershed Management Plan
The Stormwater Division
(formerly called the Water Resources Division) helped to develop
the WRIA 1 Watershed Management
Plan approved by the Whatcom County Council in June 2005.
This plan will guide water
resource management in Whatcom County into the future. Salmon
habitat recovery is intricately linked to watershed management and
will be most successful when salmon recovery objectives are carefully
coordinated with watershed management objectives. The Stormwater
Division plays a pivotal role in developing these planning linkages
and implementation strategies.
The Salmon Recovery Board
In October 2004, Whatcom County, Nooksack
Tribe, Lummi Nation, and the cities of Ferndale, Everson, Lynden,
Sumas, Nooksack, Blaine, and Bellingham, and Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife created the WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board.
The WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board has three purposes:
1. Oversee completion
and federal approval of the local recovery plan as a part of the
Puget Sound plan.
2. Oversee and support
the implementation of the local plan.
3. Organize and support
the local piece of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant application
process, the main source of salmon recovery funding.
Technical Assistance
Public Works staff provides
technical expertise to help create proactive and incentive based
salmon habitat restoration projects. One example is a comprehensive
inventory of all drainage structures, such as road culverts and
floodgates, that block salmon access to functional habitat. This
inventory of several thousand drainage structures was completed
in late 2004, with barriers prioritized for corrective work based
on the amount and quality of fish habitat that they block. The
County and others have begun to systematically correct blockages
that provide the greatest fish benefits per cost, complementing
the ongoing culvert replacements that are already part of Public
Works' regular road program.
Stormwater Division staff
also provide technical consultation of fish habitat-related issues
to other County departments and divisions.
Public Outreach and Education
The final aspect of this
program area is public outreach and education. This occurs through
informal contacts like telephone or e-mail requests for information
as well as through formal presentations to community organizations.
The Whatcom Salmon Website
displays information, resources, project information, and an event
calendar for local salmon recovery activities. In addition, the
County is a sponsor of the annual Nooksack
Recovery Team Salmon Summit. The Summit, usually held in late
fall, is a day of presentations, displays, and dialogue about the
over 600 salmon recovery projects completed or underway in Whatcom
County.
Salmon Recovery Website
To learn more about salmon
in Whatcom County visit the Whatcom
Salmon Recovery Website produced by the Stormwater Division
and Washington State Cooperative Extension - Whatcom County.
At this site you will find information on the basic issues surrounding
salmon recovery, recovery projects in the Nooksack River and adjacent
streams, and the policies and plans designed to recover salmon runs.
Each month new articles are posted that spotlight current recovery
projects within the county, specific watersheds and their habitat
issues, and general questions about salmon. You can also find volunteer
opportunities, places to see salmon, and area events.
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