Damage to salmon habitat no surprise

The Monday Herald story, “Urban flooding likely hurt salmon,” reports that the record rain falls of Dec. 3 were very hard on salmon streams. As reported, normally trees, duff and soil absorb much of the floodwater. However, the state water quality specialist says: “That can’t happen when nearly half of a watershed is covered with impervious surfaces.” This is a problem all over the county where planners and council members have cowed to developers.

My neighborhood association begged, pleaded and went before the County Council to stop development in a sensitive watershed that harbors spawning salmon, has a steep slope, and historic slide activity. Still, the council, with a sitting biologist, ruled in favor of the developers. The problem is, many developers are driven by profit; they readily violate building codes and wait for the county to catch them because chancing a fine is better than doing the right thing in the first place. In our neighborhood, the developers clear cut the land, then failed to provide adequate protection against runoff — no straw, no channels for runoff, no detention ponds — just dirt, mud and plastic screens.

So, during the inevitable storm, Picnic Point Stream was a river of mud. Anything that once lived there probably suffocated in mud. The funny thing is, at Picnic Point beach, Surface Water Management has posted signs that say “Caution!! Salmon at Work. This stream supports spawning and rearing salmon and trout. Please protect your resource.” I guess it should say “used to” support salmon.

The irony is, the county planners know full well that carelessness upstream can cause irreparable damage downstream.

Citizens can try to make a difference, but the county must also monitor building contractors more closely — and quit letting developers make all the money while the rest of us pay the price.

Susan Gregerson

Edmonds