Ron Woodworth, CBFTF

With the arrival of fall rains volunteers are again busy, night and day, capturing adult salmon in efforts to "jump start" native runs in the Chehalis River Basin.

Broodstocking is the foundation of many native stock revitalization efforts. In these projects adult salmon are captured as they return to their native rivers (the annual rodeo of the Kings). They are then transferred to holding ponds or raceways at a hatchery facility until they are "ripe" or ready to spawn.

In nature approximately 20 percent of all eggs spawned will survive. With a little help from man, up to 80 percent can survive. Once the young fish have hatched and lived a short part of their lives at the hatchery or rearing ponds, they will be released back into their native river, to add to the common fishery and hopefully increase the number of native fish that will return to spawn in the coming years.

Projects involving broodstocking and/or rearing native stocks include:

The Chehalis Native Chinook Project, sponsored by the Elma Game Club; The Satsop Springs Native Chinook Project, sponsored by the Elma Game Club; The Wynoochee Native Coho Project (Hillian Creek) sponsored by the Washington Trollers Association, the WDW Aberdeen Lake Hatchery and John Hillian; The Wynoochee Native Chinook Project, sponsored by the crew of the WDW Aberdeen Lake Hatchery; the Wishkah River Chinook, Coho and Chum efforts, sponsored by Long Live the Kings; and the Peter's Native Coho Project, sponsored by the Washington Trollers Association.

The success of these efforts is credited to the hard work of many, many volunteers, the support of the local community and the guidance of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Almost three years ago, the Washington State Department of Ecology began searching for better ways to carry out our programs at the community level. We wanted to do three things:

1. Improve environmental quality;
2. Better coordinate our activities in the same communities; and
3. Find new, non-regulatory solutions to environmental problems.

Last year, a group of employees from Ecology's water, land and air programs developed a proposal for how the agency could accomplish these goals. They proposed developing "Local Action Teams" -- groups of employees from different parts of the agency who have one thing in common -- they work in the same watershed or drainage basin.

The teams would become the hub for Ecology's activities in the watershed. They would evaluate environmental needs in the area, work closely with local agencies and interests to set priorities and solve problems, and recommend new and more effective ways for Ecology to protect the environment in the watershed.

Getting to know you

The Chehalis Watershed Local Action Team was one of the first three teams formed within Ecology. Local government representatives from Lewis and Thurston County helped select the team leader, Brian Walsh. For the past five months, Brian has been meeting with public officials and groups in the watershed and with Ecology employees working there. He's developing a profile of the area that will be used to form the Ecology team and develop a workplan for it.

One reason for forming a Local Action Team in Chehalis Basin is that many of the environmental needs and issues in the area involve our agency. Here are a few examples:

• The proposal of reducing sulfur dioxide emissions from the coal-fired power plant in
• Centralia by 90 percent, and keep the plant and adjacent mine in operation;
• Repairing damage from recent floods -- estimated at $30 million from last February's flooding , alone;
• Cleaning up tire piles;
• Cleaning up the Saginaw mill site in south Aberdeen;
• Improving water quality in the Chehalis River and its tributaries; and
• Studying ocean erosion problems.

To date, Brian has met with dozens of groups, more than 70 people representing different backgrounds and a wide range of interests in the watershed. He's come from these meetings convinced that many groups are already doing a lot to improve environmental quality in the watershed.

"Groups here are very action oriented. They want to get things done, not develop another plan," he said.

'Diversity' is a word Brian often uses to describe the Chehalis watershed and the people who live there. "It's a rural watershed, with a thriving commercial port and growing urban areas," he said. "Annual precipitation ranges from 200 inches in the Olympics to 24 inches in Chehalis -- creating very different natural environments. There's a diversity of opinions about environmental protection, too. Some people want a lot more done. Others want to slow down."

If you have comments or questions about Ecology's Local Action Team, please call Brian Walsh at (360) 407-6310 or write to him at Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47775, Olympia, WA 98504-7775.

Do you have access to a boat, live near a Washington lake from May through October, and want to work closely with scientists to track your lake's health?

Ecology is seeking volunteers to join our Lake Water Quality Assessment Program. The seven-year-old program marshals citizens to collect data used to characterize water quality on more than 50 lakes.

Looking for signs of change

Many Washington lakes are plagued with excessive algae and aquatic plant growth caused by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution Although the problems often seem to arise suddenly, they usually develop gradually. The only way to determine whether gradual changes are occurring in the water is to monitor the lake regularly.

Using equipment provided by Ecology, volunteers measure water clarity and surface water temperature every two weeks during the growing season. In May and August, volunteers also collect water samples for phosphorus, nitrogen and chlorophyll.

Volunteers receive a report for their lake, listing monitoring results and explaining what they mean. These reports are also sent to local and state health agencies, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The information is used to determine the need for further study and in planning restoration projects.

For more information

For more information contact Kirk Smith at (360) 407-6680, e-mail: ksmi461@ecy.wa.gov

A tree is one of nature's noble creations. For centuries man has relied on trees of many diverse species - for fuel, food, fiber, shelter, medicines, and lumber for our houses and other buildings, furniture, paper, and countless other products and structures we use in our daily lives, often not thinking where they came from. Trees are a precious heritage and one of the greatest assets of this part of the Northwest we live in.

From the start, our economy in the Northwest has been largely dependent on its natural resources: the forests; the salmon and other wildlife; the rich soil for farming; ample rainfall and clear rivers, lakes, and springs - sources of clean, pure water. They were all there for the taking, and our ancestors believed they would last forever. We are beginning to realize they won't. We are becoming aware also of the intricate relations and interdependencies of our natural world, which have been altered and upset by mankind.

The controversy between loggers and environmentalists over the spotted owl vs. jobs is missing the real issue. We can continue to harvest timber and still save our old-growth forests and provide a reasonable level of employment. But we must do some things differently. We can stop, or at least lessen log exports, and we can substitute selective logging for current practices. Clearcutting, burning of slash, and replanting plantations of Douglas fir, the chief timber crop of the Pacific Northwest, have long been advocated by foresters and lumber interests as the most economical and feasible way to go. The soil loss and flood-causing erosion on steep hillsides, the polluting of streams and rivers that is depleting salmon runs, or the destruction of the forest's diversity in substituting one-species plantations for natural regeneration - these are not mentioned in the flowing accounts of harvesting and replanting. Fifty years is a long time to wait to harvest a crop, and with much of the complex nutritional diversity of the natural forest gone, will future crops maintain the quality needed in generations to come?

We have seen the danger of overspecializing in other areas devoted to single-crop farming - how disease and pests can come in and wipe out the whole economy of a region. Unless we can change our focus from individual species or populations to ecosystem - the whole picture within each watershed, our forests, our salmon runs, our wildlife, and our water systems will continue to suffer - and so will we.

On the small acreage that we own in Boistfort Valley near Chehalis, we are trying to maintain and improve the forest and be good stewards of land we feel privileged to possess.

Ray Kent,
Forest Steward
Curtis WA

Margaret Rader, CRC

The CRC's Resource Library and office will be the scene of an Open House, to be held on Saturday, November 16, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Although the resource library has been open since January, this is the first event to introduce the library to members and the public. A cooperating organization, the Lincoln Creek Landowners Association, will host the event, providing refreshments and nformation about their organization. The Lincoln Creek Landowners Association is chaired by Gerry Foglesong, with Sue Butschun secretary.

CRC staff and trustees will also be on hand to welcome those who visit. Information about the Chehalis Basin, the available resources, and the CRC will be on display. Visitors will be welcome at any time between l:00 and 4:00 pm on Saturday, November 16th.

Thurston Conservation District has recently hired an educational program coordinator to begin Project GREEN in the Chehalis River Basin. GREEN stands for Global Rivers Environmental Education Network and is a program of international scope. The program is receiving base funding through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Students from middle school through community college will investigate watershed issues including the collection of water quality data on local creeks and rivers which can then be shared with other students locally or worldwide. The program is designed to build partnerships among schools, businesses and the community.

Initially there will be five schools in the basin participating: Centralia, Oakville and Rochester High Schools, Tenino Middle School and Grays Harbor College. As well as enjoying hands on learning in school, students will participate in special monitoring days, a student congress, special projects and more.

For more information and to lend your support for the project contact Claire Denise at Thurston Conservation District (360) 754-3588. tcdgreen.asc

As a result of The Chehalis Basin Fishery Resources Study and Restoration Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-452) the Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a comprehensive study of Chehalis River Basin fishery resources and developed recommendations for Chehalis fishery resources restoration, in cooperation with the State, concerned tribes, and the public. In an initial report to Congress (Hiss and Knudsen 1992), The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presented the following goal for Chehalis Basin salmon and steelhead restoration:

"to optimize natural salmon and steelhead production while maintaining the existing genetic adaptation of wild spawners and allowing the highest compatible level of hatchery production."

95 CFRP-FUNDED PROJECTS SINCE 1993 HAVE INCLUDED:

• 234,000 feet (44.4 miles) of streamside livestock exclusion fencing with limited access watering points and stream crossings
• 220,000 feet (41.5 miles) of streamside revegetation using native plants
• 96,500 feet (17.5 miles) of stream channel enhancement - including
• sediment control and habitat creation - using bank sloping, woody debris placement, flow deflectors and native vegetation plantings
• 352,520 square feet (8 acres) of off-channel wild salmon rearing habitat and high-water refuge creation and enhancement
• 6.5 miles of stream opened by removal of artificial barriers tomigration
• Seven project streams intensively monitored for water quality
• Six miles of decommissioning and revegetation of roads delivering finesediment to streams
• 3,000 feet of chum salmon spawning channel creation
• Three education programs
• 39 miles of stream reclassification to provide greater protection
• Two habitat inventory projects
• Initial funding of this newsletter

These projects have been made possible through cooperative efforts with local landowners, county governments and conservation districts, local tribes, state and federal agencies, area colleges, non-profit organizations and private consultants.

For more information, including fisheries restoration opportunities, please call Mike Kelly at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 360-753-9460.

NEXT MONTH: HOW THE CFRP MEASURES SUCCESS

Western Washington Fishery Resource Office
2625A Parkmont Lane
Olympia, WA 98502 wwfro@netcom.com

Local groups that count birds, monitor water quality, measure stream flow, and identify fish or wildlife will soon find it easier to coordinate their efforts and learn from each other.

The Governor's Council on Environmental Education is building a new citizen monitoring network called Watch Over Washington (WOW). According to Ecology's Annie Phillips, the electronic network will help citizens find other monitoring activities in their area and learn about training opportunities and other news.

The ultimate goal of the network is to allow groups to share data with others and access information produced by government agencies and other volunteers, said Phillips. The first step is to link up efforts within watersheds at the local level.

Through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ecology worked with the Governor's Council and its member agencies to survey volunteer groups that monitor the environment. There are almost 2,000 coordinators of volunteer monitoring projects in Washington, including teachers, local government Stream Teams, environmental groups like Audubon and Trout Unlimited, and other community groups.

The survey results are the first-ever statewide catalog of the location of monitoring projects, what parameters are measured, and the methods and quality assurance protocols used by the monitors.

The survey also asked groups to join Watch Over Washington. Most respondents are eager to sign up, said Phillips. Ecology's home page will soon include the complete directory of volunteer monitors.

Looking for volunteers

The Council is seeking people and organizations to join the WOW network. For information contact Ecology's Annie Phillips at (360) 407-6408, e-mail: aphi461@ecy.wa.gov

How Well Do You, or Your Parents, Know the Watershed?

• 1. Do you know the watershed you live in? What is the name of the watershed?
• 2. What is a watershed?
• 3. How many square miles is the Chehalis River Watershed?
• 4. How many state parks are found in the watershed? What are their names?
• 5. How many county parks are located in the watershed? Is it 5 or 10? 10 to 20? 20 to 30? 30 to 50?
• 6. How many major lakes are in the Chehalis watershed? What are their names?
• 7. Are there any nature preserves, wildlife refuges, or wildlife areas in the Chehalis watershed? How many can you name?
• 8. How many fish hatcheries are located in the Chehalis watershed? What are their names?
• 9. What kinds of businesses and industries use a lot of water and are located in the Chehalis watershed? How many can you name?
• 10. Capitol Forest is over 91,000 acres and is located in the Chehalis watershed. It was purchased in the 1940's by DNR at 50 cents per acre. True or False?
• 11. Name at least 3 major businesses or industries which are located in the Chehalis Watershed.
• 12. What are two major tourist areas in the watershed?
• 13. What city is the oldest incorporated city in the watershed?
• 14. What cities have waste water treatment plants?
• 15. What cities get their public drinking water from rivers or streams? What are the names of those rivers or streams?