Salmon have returned to our local streams to spawn and we are receiving eyewitness reports from our stream monitors. This is a very exciting time to watch salmon and trout as they head upstream to spawn! There are five species of salmon (Chum, Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, and Pink) and three species of trout (Steelhead, Cutthroat, and Bull) that spawn in Pierce County. There are even runs of Kokanee (land-locked Sockeye) salmon that spawn in Chambers and Murray Creeks.
 
Because of salmon presence in streams, the PCD Water Quality Monitoring Program is issuing a blanket policy of no flows sticks from October-April. We do not want to be in streams at the same time as spawning or if there are redds (spawning nest) present. To accommodate the wide variety of spawning times this policy will be in effect from fall through spring. Stream monitors will not receive a flow stick during this time period to calculate discharge. If you do see salmon in your streams, please be thoughtful with your sample collections and make a note on your data sheets about their presence. If it is best, do not do your monitoring at all if it will interfere with the salmon and instead return in a month to monitor. We’d rather ensure the salmon are able to complete their natural process than collect data.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact Belinda at (253) 845-9770 x109 or belindap@piercecountycd.org. 

To learn more about salmon and where to see them in Pierce County, please visit Pierce County’s salmon recovery website.