Over $1.8 million was awarded in December by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board for ten salmon recovery projects in San Juan County. One project, dubbed the “Big Picture Project”, will address a critical data gap regarding which habitats in the San Juan Islands are used by migrating juvenile salmon.
To get a better handle on this, the Skagit River System Cooperative, local scientists and WSU Beach Watchers volunteers will assess the presence of Chinook and other salmon species and their use of certain types of habitats. The results of this project will be used to better evaluate the types of activities that are necessary for salmon recovery in San Juan County. The work will include classifying shorelines into habitat types and sampling fish within these types. The information will be used to make habitat type and place-specific priorities for recovering Puget Sound Chinook salmon (which are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act). Resource managers currently only generally understand linkages between nearshore habitat and salmon, which doesn’t translate into strategic recovery actions by habitat type or place within a diverse landscape. The results of this assessment will be translated into ranking criteria for projects evaluated for funding.
Secondly, a study of food sources for salmon will be assessed as a method to determine the location of salmon populations along San Juan County’s 408 miles of shoreline. Previous studies found juvenile salmon congregate on the shorelines much of the year, but are selective in their choice of habitats. Knowing which habitats are preferred by juvenile salmon will give a geographical focus for protection and restoration actions. Using a combination of visual identification and biogeochemical methods will be used to determine which prey are being consumed by juvenile salmon and the extent to which they depend on land-based (thus more human-influenced) prey. The project will focus on two juvenile salmon hot spots on President Channel (Waldron-Orcas) and south Lopez Island and builds on the “food security for salmon” community project on Waldron Island, which engages landowners directly in research and formulating land-use actions.
The projects are being completed via a unique collaboration between local county organizations, tribes, and the federal government (including NOAA). For instance, the food security for salmon work is being performed by KWIAHT, and they are also coordinating volunteers for the overall project. Additionally, there is extensive public participation involved with both of these projects in using Beach Watchers and local citizens. The San Juan County WSU Beach Watchers are volunteering to help perform the beach seining component of the sampling protocol.
For more information regarding these projects or local salmon recovery activities, please contact Barbara Rosenkotter at barbarar@co.san-juan.wa.us or (360)370-7593.
