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Kokanee returns improve; King County, tribal and city partners report rising spawner and fry counts
Summary
King County's Kokanee Recovery Program reported the second-highest kokanee returns in nearly 30 years and record numbers of fry exiting creeks, crediting habitat access improvements and a mix of restoration and hatchery efforts.
King County Natural Resources and local partners told the Sammamish City Council on April 15 that kokanee salmon returns to Lake Sammamish creeks were the second-highest in about 30 years and that fry counts and hatchery supplementation suggest the population is responding to ongoing recovery work.
Allison Agnes, Kokanee Salmon Recovery Manager for King County, said partners are removing barriers and restoring access to creeks within Sammamish, naming Zacchaeus Creek, Bridal Creek and George Davis Creek among those where access improvements have taken place or are planned. She credited a combination of barrier removals, habitat restoration, reintroduction efforts and a captive broodstock program for recent gains.
"We saw a lot of red in the creeks around the lake," Agnes said, noting the strong returns. She said Zacchaeus Creek recorded 305 spawners this season, the largest number seen to date in that creek, and that a voluntary fry-trapping effort documented more than 3,400 fry in a single night at one site. The program also released a record 12,000 young kokanee to the lake last fall as part of an extended rearing strategy intended to improve survival.
Agnes and partners described a multifaceted approach: barrier removal, remote stream incubators, captive broodstock operations to maintain genetic diversity, and hatchery rearing at Issaquah Hatchery and in volunteer home rearing. She said additional work is ongoing to improve lake survival, including research on removing invasive predatory fish, managing invasive aquatic vegetation, minimizing artificial night lighting, and reducing disease vectors.
Councilmember Kent Treen, who chairs the kokanee interlocal agreement, thanked partners and said the work was a good use of public funds; the panel said a communications plan is funded in the current year budget to help raise the program's profile with elected officials and the public. Councilmembers noted kokanee return cycles can vary and that population rebounds may not be consistently high every year.
King County and the Kokanee work group plan further public outreach and will publish a report outlining priority management and research actions for the recovery program; the presentation invited public participation in Kokanee Work Group meetings and volunteer activities such as fry trapping and habitat stewardship.
