What's New
Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed
Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8
Press event highlights WRIA 8 Implementation Progress Report and returning chinook
A press event at the Locks on August 12, 2008 celebrated both this year's great chinook salmon run and all the hard work being done in WRIA 8 to implement the Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan, as highlighted in the WRIA 8 Implementation Progress Report. The event was covered by KIRO TV (channel 7), KOMO 4, KUOW Radio - NPR, the Seattle Times, and KCTV. Read the press release here.
WRIA 8 releases Implementation Progress Report
The greatest number of chinook salmon in nearly four decades returned to WRIA 8 in 2007. Freshwater habitat improvements, including opening several miles of the Cedar River above Landsburg Dam to salmon spawning and rearing, offer hope that recovery of this federally protected species can continue in the years to come. Read more details about the status of salmon recovery in the 2008 WRIA 8 Implementation Progress Report, Salmon and People Living Together.
WRIA 8 habitat protection and restoration projects go online through state database
A new statewide database gathers detailed information about habitat restoration and protection projects to help track progress in recovering endangered salmon throughout Washington. The status of approximately 160 high-priority projects from the WRIA 8 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan will be accessible through a web-based portal.
Lake Washington shoreline permitting process the focus of University of Washington project
Graduate students in the University of Washington Environmental Management Program interviewed federal, state, and local permitting agencies, as well as contractors, consultants, and private landowners, to assess stakeholder understanding of the permitting process. Their 2008 report is available on the UW Environmental Management Keystones Project website. This project was a follow-up to a 2007 UW project surveying community support for a "fish-friendly shoreline" in Lake Washington. WRIA 8 participated as a Community Partner, and WRIA 8 Watershed Coordinator Jean White served as an advisor for both projects.
Lakeshore Living Workshop hosted by WRIA 8 Implementation
WRIA 8's Implementation Committee April, 2008 meeting on Working with Property Owners to Improve Shoreline Habitat for Juvenile Salmon generated a lively discussion about how partners can continue to work together on this topic. Some highlights:
- Holly McCracken, from Seattle Public Utilities, presented the results of their survey of south Lake Washington shoreline property owners' openness to alternative shoreline techniques. She reported that the top motivator for salmon-friendly shoreline designs would be tax incentives.
- Seth Ballhorn of the University of Washington Environmental Management Program gave an overview of their project to understand shoreline permitting issues (this is the second UW Keystone Team to focus on Lake Washington). Key findings include the need for better education regarding the shoreline permitting process at all levels, and the recognition that the process is considered dauntingly complex by some homeowners.
- Dave Laclergue, from Seattle's Department of Planning and Development, gave an early peek at a guidebook for lakeshore property owners. The guidebook takes a "Sunset Magazine approach", with attractive photographs of salmon-friendly designs. When the guidebook is published, we will include a link.
- Tom Sibley, from NOAA Fisheries, explained new permit guidelines for bank stabilization on Lake Washington. Tom outlined three recommended approaches for bank stabilization and said that Federal processing of permits should be more rapid using one of these three designs.
After the presentations, participants discussed ways to promote more fish-friendly shoreline alternatives. More information on Lakeshore Living can be found here.