September 19, 2003 News Release King County on look out for Vashon Island "Salmon Watchers" If you are a Vashon Island resident that enjoys watching salmon and has access to local streams, King County is looking for you. With its third Salmon Watcher season about to kick off, King County and the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust are looking for help from local volunteers to spend 15 minutes twice a week from October through January observing six Vashon streams and counting the returning salmon. By watching for spawning salmon, volunteers help figure out how far up Vashon streams fish go and help identify which species are using which streams, among other things. Water resources are especially important in an island community. Understanding the streams and the creatures that live there are important steps toward protecting the water that the community shares. In particular, the county is looking for people who live next to, or have access to, streamside locations on Shinglemill, Judd, Christensen, Fisher, Gorsuch or Tahlequah creeks. Since most of Vashon stream banks are in private ownership, the cooperation of landowners is essential for the success of this program. If you'd like to volunteer to be a Salmon Watcher, see the instructions below. If you don't have time to volunteer, but are willing to let a volunteer access the stream on your property, then let us match a volunteer with you. How can you become a Salmon Watcher for our 2003 season? Contact Katie Sauter Messick (206-296-0516) and sign up your site. Attend our classroom training on October 7, 6:30 p.m., at the Vashon Maury Island Land Trust to learn salmon identification skills and learn about the program Make time in your calendar to visit your site twice a week from mid-October through January. Other Salmon Watcher events to keep in mind: On Sunday November 9, at 1 p.m., at Fern Cove there will be a celebration to welcome back the salmon to island streams. There will be a field training in November so trainees can practice their identification skills on real fish. We'll keep you posted on time and place. Lastly, we'll plan on having an end-of-season potluck in late January or early February to close out our season and share the results we have found. To learn more about the Salmon Watcher program, visit our Web site or contact program coordinator Katie Sauter Messick at 206-296-0516. Related Information King County Environmental Education Programs The Dirt: DNR's Volunteer Calendar News Releases

King County | Natural Resources and Parks | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.