Strong returns of oceangoing chinook salmon and rare Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon are among the highlights of salmon-viewing opportunities along many King County rivers and streams this fall. Details on self-guided and interactive viewing opportunities are on the Salmon SEEson website.
Pacific salmon – including sockeye, chinook, coho and chum – are now completing the journey from the open ocean to their birthplaces in King County streams and rivers that feed into Puget Sound. Lake Sammamish kokanee, a unique population of landlocked sockeye salmon that spend their entire lives within the lake watershed, can also be seen in spawning streams around the lake.
The Salmon SEEson program helps people witness the final stage of the Pacific salmon’s remarkable migration at locations across King County and offers information on self-guided and interactive viewing opportunities.
Status of returning salmon populations
This year, an estimated 18,500 chinook passed through the Ballard Locks on their way to spawning streams and hatcheries within the greater Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish watershed. This is the third highest count in the past 20 years and the majority of returning fish are hatchery fish.
Unfortunately, this year’s Lake Washington sockeye salmon return continued to be low, with the fourth-lowest return on record since 1972. Coho salmon began passing through the locks in late August, and the 19,000-plus coho that were counted through mid-November is below recent averages.
Celebrating the arrival of the first chinook redd at Riverbend along the Cedar River
Salmon are returning to spawn in the recently completed Riverbend Levee Setback and Floodplain Restoration stretch of the Cedar River. This newly reconnected floodplain habitat is filled with all the things salmon love most: side channels with slower flows and wood in the water, plus overhanging trees and understory plants.
For migrating chinook returning to their spawning grounds in the Cedar, the salmon are using the perfectly sized streambed cobble in the restored river stretch for their nests full of fertilized eggs.. The nests, known as redds, are abundant in Riverbend’s newly constructed side channels.
The 50-plus acres of floodplain habitat restored as part of the Riverbend project was a high priority for Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8) salmon recovery efforts, achieving 40% of WRIA 8’s 10-year floodplain reconnection goal.
Strong early returns for Lake Sammamish kokanee
Now is a great time to view kokanee salmon spawning in creeks around Lake Sammamish. Adults of this unique landlocked salmon species are returning in strong numbers to the spawning grounds this year, with more than 2,500 fish counted so far – that’s a dramatic improvement over recent years’ returns. You can see these brightly colored salmon at Salmon SEEson viewing sites along Ebright, Zackuse, and Lewis creeks, among others.
Salmon are an icon of the Pacific Northwest and a vital cultural, economic, and environmental resource for our region. Local governments and community groups around King County and Puget Sound are working to recover salmon populations by protecting and restoring habitat, managing stormwater runoff, and educating the public about what they can do to help.
Working to recover salmon is about more than salmon – it is fundamentally about caring for our home and making our communities sustainable for the long term. Protecting and restoring salmon habitat also improves water quality, reduces flood hazards, protects open space, improves stormwater management, sustains and improves our quality of life, and promotes a proud legacy of stewardship for future generations.
Practicing water conservation and pollution prevention year-round helps salmon thrive, which means more fish can survive and continue their journey to the ocean and back to local streams and rivers.
Salmon SEEson is sponsored by the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council as part of its effort to recover salmon in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed. Additional sponsors include the Saving Water Partnership, Duwamish Alive Coalition, the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed, the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, and King County.
For more information, visit kingcounty.gov/salmon and click on “Where to view salmon.”