Grant may save Stillaguamish River chinook

As struggling salmon runs go, few are as close to extinction as the chinook population of the South Fork Stillaguamish River.

Only 100 to 200 adult fish return to spawn each year, so few that the population could die off at any time, say fish biologists.

Flush with $4.5 million in salmon recovery dollars for Snohomish County, local fish experts plan to make a last-ditch push to save the struggling fish.

The Stillaguamish Tribe learned this week that it has received $634,044, which it will use to capture 15 to 20 male and female wild returning salmon each fall.

Starting next August, the plan is to collect the eggs and sperm, fertilize them and allow them to hatch and grow into fry at a tribal hatchery in Arlington.

“The South Fork (chinook population) is at a critical level,” said Tim Walls, a senior planner for Snohomish County and leader of this county’s salmon recovery efforts. “We’re in danger of losing that population. It’s absolutely critical that we get that population back on track immediately. The work that the tribes are doing is going to help do that.”

Pulling wild fish into a hatchery has never been done on the South Fork, but a similar strategy has worked for 20 years on the North Fork Stillaguamish River, where 1,500 to 1,600 chinook return to spawn each year under conditions similar to those on the South Fork.

On the North Fork the tribe catches and breeds 50 to 60 wild males and females, said Pat Stevenson, the Stillaguamish Tribe’s environmental manager. He said they produce about 250,000 eggs, most of which survive and are released each May as fingerlings big enough to head out to Puget Sound and beyond.

“If it hadn’t been for that program over the last 20 years, there wouldn’t be a North Fork run,” Stevenson said.

If all goes well, 50,000 to 60,000 chinook fry will be released into the South Fork in May each year. Before they are let go, they will be put in pens so they can get acclimated to the river, which should help direct them back to the South Fork to spawn naturally.

To help those fish survive what can be a tough journey to sea, Snohomish County plans to cable giant stumps and logs together in the river to provide shelter.

The county also this week learned that it has received a $325,619 grant to build four such shelters and to do other work that will provide fish in the South Fork places to hide from predators, catch a meal and ride out bad weather.

The county was awarded another $200,000 grant to figure out what more can be done on the South Fork to preserve the chinook population, Walls said. The county has found that it can be far more efficient with limited salmon recovery dollars if it does an exhaustive analysis on what will do the most good.

On the South Fork, one of the most key needs is to find ways to reduce the amount of sediment that flows into the river, which robs the river of the oxygen that the salmon and eggs need to survive.

Gov. Chris Gregoire this week released $60 million in salmon recovery grants, with most of the money going to restore salmon habitat in the Puget Sound region, including $4.5 million coming to Snohomish County.

“The health of salmon populations is an indication of the health of our environment,” Gregoire said. “Protecting and restoring our land and water is key to the quality of life in Washington and essential to the strength of our economy.”

The grant money is being used to pay for recovery goals identified in a recovery plan for salmon and bull trout adopted for the Puget Sound region by federal officials earlier this year.

The plan addresses each river basin, including the Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers. Walls said the money is much appreciated but far short of being enough to pay for the 10-year plan.

The Stillaguamish River is expected to get $3.7 million, including $1.3 million for the South Fork alone. The money, to be spent over two years, comes from the state’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board and from a direct appropriation from the Legislature.