Salmon Streams and Tributaries

  May 2023

Removing Local Barriers to Fish Passage

by Luisa Loi In 2007, the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Washington determined that barriers to salmon passage contributed to greatly reduced salmon runs. Thus, these obstacles represented a violation of tribal fishing rights granted by … Continue reading

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  December 2021

Nooksack Basin Salmon Habitat Restoration Project

Surrounded by local farmers’ fields, the rebuilt landscape features state-of-the-art technology to restore salmon access to miles of stream habitat. Local farmers are unveiling a just-completed fish habitat restoration project that has re-opened miles of salmon stream on a tributary … Continue reading

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  January 2021

Lummi Fishes Whatcom Creek for First Time in a Century

by Kari Neumeyer Lummi tribal fishermen harvested salmon from Whatcom Creek in August, for the first time in at least 100 years. The Chinook salmon were released as juveniles in 2017 from the Bellingham Technical College’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Science … Continue reading

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  January 2021

Salmon Now Free to Swim Upstream

by Kari Neumeyer Two fish-blocking dams were torn down in the North Sound region over the summer, opening up pristine habitat for threatened salmon populations. The Tulalip Tribes worked with the city of Snohomish to remove a dam on the … Continue reading

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  January 2021

Salmon Habitat Restoration Completed in Nooksack River

by Kari Neumeyer The last of 127 engineered logjams were placed in the Farmhouse Reach of the North Fork Nooksack River this summer, completing an extensive multiyear salmon habitat restoration project. The reach is between Maple Falls and Deming (closer … Continue reading

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  June 2019

Nooksack River: Salmon and Agriculture

by Ron Kleinknecht Part 4 In Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series (1,2,3), I described the Nooksack River, some of its history, and the degradation of its habitats and waters. I also described how this degradation has imperiled … Continue reading

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  May 2019

The Nooksack River: A Treasure to Preserve

by Ron Kleinknecht Part 3 Efforts to Reclaim the Nooksack   In Parts 1 and 2 of this series (1, 2), I described the Nooksack River and how its three forks joined from the glaciers and watersheds surrounding the Mount … Continue reading

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  April 2019

The Nooksack River The History and Current State of the River

    by Ron Kleinknecht Part 2 In part 1 of this series, I described the Nooksack River from its headwaters and contributing forks in the North Cascade Mountains through its course to the Salish Sea. (1) I made the … Continue reading

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  March 2019

Middle Fork Diversion Dam

The city of Bellingham operates a water diversion dam on the Middle Fork Nooksack River, approximately 20 miles east of the city of Bellingham. The city has diverted water from the Middle Fork since 1962 to supplement its main water … Continue reading

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  January 2019

Fishtrap Creek Restoration

by Darrell Gray The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association completed its first Fishtrap Creek riparian planting project with Harlan Kredit and Lynden Christian High School (LCHS) students in 1995. This would be the beginning of a long-term relationship with the creek, … Continue reading

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