Salmon Spawning

 

Our salmon spawning surveys at Puget Creek take place between October 15th and January 15th each year. Every three days, volunteers walk the stream, looking for returning adult salmon, adult salmon carcasses, and redds. Redds are depressions made by female salmon as "nests" where they lay their eggs. During this time, we are also looking for signs of juvenile salmon or single eggs.

 

PCRS provides our volunteers with the training and equipment necessary to properly conduct the surveys, including a trip to Prairie Creek and Voights Creek Hatchery and the established protocol and methods for identifying and documenting spawning salmon. The final stage of instruction involves walking Puget Creek as if conducting the survey.

 

By documenting the numbers of salmon that return, we are able to determine annual increases which in turn provides tangible results that PCRS uses to justify the efforts and expenditures that we apply to the stream and habitat restoration. The information we generate will show that salmon can be restored to urban streams if the community is willing to put forth the necessary effort.

 

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