Our mission is to protect, restore and increase salmon stocks in North Olympic Peninsula watersheds.

Welcome to NOSC's Newsletter!!... ***** Click HERE to Subscribe to NOSC's Newsletter by Email... GO DIRECTLY to NOSC's WEBSITE for more information about NOSC. ******* NOSC Mission: "Our Mission is to protect, restore and increase salmon stocks in North Olympic Peninsula Watersheds. We recognize that community understanding, cooperation, and feeling of stewardship are critical to success." NOSC Staff: Rebecca Benjamin Executive Director Kevin Long Project Manager Owen French Restoration Steward Randy Pendergrass Financial Manager Nancy Erreca Admin. Assistant Alisa Meany Outreach Coordinator Heather Noel Americorps Intern Justin Lake Eric Spafford John Steurer Restoration Technicians North Olympic Salmon Coalition 205 B West Patison Port Hadlock, WA 98339 (360) 379-8051 volunteer@nosc.org Below: Click on the following links to be taken to other related websites and topics of interest... Marine Science Center Jefferson Land Trust Jefferson County Conservation District WSU Cooperative Extension Water Watchers / Beach Watchers StreamKeepers Americorps, Washington Conservation Corps Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe WATCH the VIDEO "Chum Tales" -- to see the story of the restoration of ESA listed summer chum run back to our local Chimacum Creek... - Elwha River, Dam Removal - Olympic Discovery Nature Center - FIN the Migrating Salmon - PTguide - City Guide to Port Townsend, Washington - WDFW Webpage on Salmon, Fishing, and other Related Information

"Americorps Crews and Restoration Techs Take Over Field Work With WRIA 17 Monies... " Funds to help field crews and hire restoration technicians at NOSC make a huge impact on restoration work this summer... There is a team to be reckoned with taking the Chimacum watershed by storm! NOSC's Americorps intern Heather Noel, together with 3 hired Restoration Technicians and a 6 person Washington Conservation Crew (WCC), have been attacking noxious weeds, cleaning up debris, mowing and doing just about everything to get our local watershed healthy for salmon... The WRIA 17 planning unit allocated Department of Ecology money to the Jefferson County Conservation District (JCCD) to do water quality improvements in Chimacum Creek. One of the biggest factors affecting water quality here in the Chimacum watershed is decreased levels of dissolved oxygen. Noxious weeds, especially large infestations, significantly deplete oxygen levels in the water when they die in the fall and the decaying material remains in the stream. In addition, noxious weeds crowd out native plants and compete with them for water and nutrients. To address this, JCCD contracted with NOSC to do weed removal work throughout the watershed using these funds. The crew has been working at 11 different restoration sites, as well as doing roving weed removal work throughout the creek system. Chimacum creek and its associated tributaries have had some unfortunately impressive stands of bittersweet nightshade - stands so large that they formed huge, hanging walls twenty feet in the air and stretched across the creek -- (see the picture above and below to get a peek at some of the jungle this crew had to deal with...!) Tires, trash and other debris were removed as well, with the crew covering a total of 6 miles of stream in their cleanup effort. Only a crew with this many people could really begin to address all the needs out there! Monies from WRIA 17 were dedicated to Chimacum for this work, and so the crew will work until the end of June to do all they can to get the noxious weed growth under control. So far, the team has taken a total of 50 cubic yards of noxious weeds/debris out of the creek -- What does that covert to? 50 cu/yds equals over 5 large full dump truck loads, or 202 ~50 gallon bags! That gives one an idea of just how much was out there! Special thanks go to John Collins who has allowed NOSC to use his trailer attachment during this busy season -- a big help as you can see in getting the bags of debris removed and taken to the dump... Thank you crew for working so hard out there and doing such a great job!! ************************************************* "Smolt Trapping at the West End" by Heather Noel, Americorps Intern During the month of April, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe installs smolt traps on several creeks on the west end... As an intern, hearing that NOSC helps with this project each year, my first reaction was, "What is a smolt and why do we want to trap them?" A quick internet search answered the first part of my question: "A smolt is a young salmon at the stage between the parr and the adult, when it losses the bars/spots (called par marks) on its side and becomes covered with silvery scales and first migrates from fresh water to the sea." The second part of my question was a little more difficult to find, but Mike McHenry from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe was able to explain the purpose of the smolt trap to me. While these traps are used to estimate the number of fish per year, the data gathered has a larger purpose. The data is used to estimate fish management, such as shaping fishing seasons. These traps are also used to understand the effect of larger scale restoration project sites, such as the dam removal on the Elwha. As a check to see how well the trap is working, a group of fish are marked with dye and released upstream. By checking how many fish make it back into the holding box, an estimate of the trap efficiency can be made. For example, if 100 smolts are marked and released upstream and only 80 show up in the net again, then one can assume that only 80% of the fish traveling downstream are being caught. This can be used to estimate the total amount of fish in the stream, not just the ones that are trapped. Before any data collection can happen, the trap must be installed. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe installed traps at 5 creeks this year, with NOSC volunteers helping to install the traps at East Twin and Deep Creek. The trap is essentially a funnel in the creek directing the fish into a box for counting purposes. The creek bed is leveled in a shape of a V for the large panels that form the wide end of the funnel. Fabric and plywood keep the ground behind the panels from being scoured out so a trench does not form behind the project. The first picture, above, illustrates the V format in construction with the plywood down. Sandbags raise the water so the fish are funneled through a pipe in the middle of the creek into the holding box. Here, the second picture is of the finished trap, showing the inclusion of a tarp over the mouth of the V, enticing the fish to the tube and then into the tube leading to the box. The entire process takes about 4-5 hours depending upon how many people help. It is amazing to see the project in the different stages of construction and after completion! After all construction is complete, the Lower Elwha Fisheries crew comes to gather data from the young smolts collected in the trap during this time of outmigration. The trap will then be removed, and rebuilt all over again next spring! Thanks to all those who came out to help, you made a difference. You are the part of a movement that creates a larger wave in the water. *********************************** *** VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHTS *** featuring Mike Marson, of Port Townsend, WA Mike Marson has been generously volunteering with NOSC and WSU's WaterWatcher/BeachWatcher program for years... "After retiring from my job as a Port Townsend letter carrier, I had the time to volunteer and my love of fishing and clamming and crabbing made NOSC and Water/beachwatchers the perfect organizations for me. There are so many different projects and opportunities to learn that it never gets boring. Meeting and working with so many new friends has been great!" ~ From summer chum surveys and coho surveys, to smolt trap construction, beach seining, vegetation surveys and beach profiles, Mike has been part of everything and always offers a ready hand when the need comes - even at the last minute!! Our restoration steward relies on his help heavily to help complete the many projects going on in the field... Mike has been of tremendous help, thank you Mike! And thank you to all our volunteers, of which there are so many -- we couldn't make it without you!! ********************************** "Puget Sound Partnership Funds Allow NOSC to Continue Monitoring at Chimacum Beach" Monitoring continues at the Chimacum Beach site, showing many changes since beach restoration in 2006... With funds from the Puget Sound Partnership, NOSC staff and volunteers are monitoring changes in the berm formation, sediment deposition, and many other factors at the old Irondale smelting site - now known as Chimacum or Irondale Beach. Back in 2006, tons of fill were removed from the beach site as part of an overall beach restoration project, leaving 5.7 acres of open beach available for birds, fish, and other wildlife. The beach is a known forage fish spawning beach and so these improvements will also make the habitat more attractive to sand lance and surf smelt looking for a place to lay their eggs. With almost 6 new acres of beach habitat plus a new lagoon area, it is important to track the changes that occur over time as a result of the restoration. Specifically, we are interested in monitoring the sediment movement in the nearshore, the appearance of quarry spalls and pilings on the beach face, and the presence of vegetation in the area - including eelgrass beds. High and low tides, storms and other factors are continually altering the new beach frontage, and yearly monitoring is documenting these alterations. Beach transect monitoring for this spring was completed at the end of May, and data is currently being compiled and graphed. When finished, the report will summarize pre-project conditions and 4 years of post-project data. The report will be available on the NOSC website later this summer. Below you will see a compilation of photos taken of the beach restoration site - beginning with the site under construction (top) in winter 2006, next the site immediately post-construction showing the soft bulkheading in place, the third showing changes in 2007, and finally the most recent photo taken in May 2009. Some of the most significant changes that we are seeing are in the development and alterations of the berm and lagoon (see arrows above). Originally there was no berm, and rip rap bulkheading formed an impermable barrier holding fill from the old smelting site in place. With the project, the fill was all removed, the beach area was increased and pulled back closer to the cliff, and soft bulkheading (made of rootwads and logs) was put into place. Elevation changes during grading formed a soft berm and lagoon area as well. As years pass and the tide is allowed to make its own changes, the berm has developed in size, and the lagoon area is becoming smaller. As for numbers, the berm has increased nearly 20 to 40 feet in width, and is 1 to 1.5 feet taller than in 2006. Time also finds the berm moving closer to shore, which contributes to reducing the lagoon size. Farther out, erosion is taking place at nearly 250 to 350' feet from shore, causing previously unexposed pilings to become visible as the elevation drops nearly a couple of feet since 2006. These changes are not arousing alarm -- it was expected that time would alter the beach formation -- monitoring just shows us WHAT is happening! The Chimacum Beach area is also home to eelgrass beds, and eelgrass surveys were completed at the site in 2004 and 2006. These surveys were completed by Jim Norris's group, Marine Resource consultants. Eelgrass bed changes will also continue to be watched to see the effect that the project and subsequent substrate changes has on this important habitat. Probably the best way to visualize the new beach area and all of it's changes is to visit it! Low tide is a great time to see the new expanded beach area, lagoon, and estuary -- make sure to take a walk out there and enjoy the summer sun and see what's happening... ! (Just remember, if you bring your pup, make sure to bring a leash and a plastic baggy with you!) ************************************** We'd like to Welcome Back Kevin Long, Project Manager! -- Kevin Long has returned as Project Manager to NOSC, and will be overseeing many of the upcoming projects - come by our office and say hello... Welcome to Nancy Erreca and Randy Pendergrass -- Nancy and Randy will be working as Administrative Staff at NOSC -- thank you so much for joining us, and welcome aboard! Welcome to Heather Noel, Americorps Intern -- Heather will be helping us as an intern throughout these spring and summer months - great to have you with us Heather! Goodbye to Alicia Aguirre, former Stewardship and Education Coordinator -- Alicia and her family are moving to the Portland, OR area ~ we are very very sorry to see her go, but wish her the best in her new home...! ******************************************** *** UPCOMING EVENTS *** Annual BBQ and Annual Meeting coming up on August 12th! Official announcement will be sent out soon! ~ We will be nominating new Board Members at that time, so if you are interested in being nominated for the NOSC Board, or know someone who might, please contact us at the office before July 10th! (360) 379-8051. Sequim Lavender Festival July 17th-19th, 2009 ~ NOSC will have a booth at the Lavender Festival Street Fair this year, and we are looking for volunteers to help sit the booth -- if you would like to help for a short time, (and then visit the fair!) please contact us at the office number... Joyce Daze Festival! August 1st, 2009 ~ Ready for some incredible blackberry pie? NOSC will also have a booth at Joyce Daze, and we are looking for assistants as well -- come help for a time, and get some of the best pie around while you're at it!... Again, contact us at (360) 379-8051... ********************************** Need to Renew Your Membership? Want to become a first-time Member? Click on the Membership Icon to download a membership form...   With the new changes to the NOSC bylaws, please note that NOSC annual memberships run from July to June of the following year -- thank you for your support!! ********************************************