In partnership with the City and the Suquamish Tribe of Indians, the Watershed Council has gotten underway with a long-planned-for supplementation of salmon on Cooper Creek at the head of Eagle Harbor. Cooper Creek is a beautiful stream that enters Eagle Harbor right at the top of the Bay, where Wyatt Ave turns into Eagle Harbor Drive. The Cooper Creek watershed is largely protected as city-owned property, and was the site of major restoration about 5 years ago to replace a fish-impassable culvert and in-stream impoundment. The Watershed Council has been monitoring this stream for four years and has seen very few returning adult salmon, and a handful of resident cutthroat trout. Our hope is that by supplementing the stream with fish from a nearby source whose genetics are similar to those of our Bainbridge Island fish, we can jump-start a healthy return of fish for this stream and re-introduce the important supply of nutrients and food that salmon bring back to the freshwater and upland food web.

On February 1st, more than 30 volunteers gathered to learn about the project, install a raceway for raising young fry salmon, and learn how to care for and maintain the equipment and fish. The Suquamish Tribe will be bringing approximately 10,000 fry over the next month or two to raise in the raceway for one to two months before they are released into the stream. By feeding and caring for the young fish during this vulnerable stage in their development, we can increase their odds of survival by up to an order of magnitude, from about 1/10th of 1% under conditions in the wild, to closer to a 1% rate of return. Therefore, in 3 to 4 years, when these young fry return as adults, we are targeting in the neighborhood of 100 adult spawning fish to return to the stream. Our plan is to continue the supplementation for an additional 3 years so we can ensure a healthy, diverse, multi-generation population of salmon.

The Bainbridge Review did a great cover story of this project; you can read more here: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/bir/news/39168164.html