||| FROM TANJA WILLIAMSON for SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK |||
For the second time in several years, voluntary donations of critical flow into Cascade Creek helped enable spawning by the last known wild salmon run in the San Juan Islands. On October 17 a temporary donation of flow from Rosario Resort was added to a recent donation from Olga Water Users, Inc, bringing total donated stream flow to 1.50 cubic feet per second. This effort was led by Orcas-based biologist Jenny De Groot who, on behalf of the Conservation Land Bank, has
monitored native fish populations in lower Cascade Creek at Coho Preserve since 2016. During that time, both Coastal
Cutthroat trout and the small Coho Salmon run have faced human-caused spawning disruptions including extreme low
flow and in-stream disturbance.
Adult Coho salmon typically enter island streams in the fall to spawn and most juveniles remain in freshwater for a year or more before going to sea for one to two years. Whether for trout or salmon, year-round flow in the creek is essential. But like many rivers and streams in the West, Cascade Creek’s flow is legally overallocated. While not typically an issue during rainy periods, diversions of flow during dry periods can leave little or no water for fish. Fortunately, Washington’s Trust Water Rights Program offers water right holders the opportunity to donate all or part of their water rights temporarily and then to reclaim those rights without penalty. Water right holders may also elect to donate or sell water rights to the Trust Program.
In 2020 the Conservation Land Bank secured $500,000 in grant funds from the Department of Ecology and the Recreation and Conservation Office to support permanent flow restoration in Cascade Creek. These grant funds remain available, and the Land Bank welcomes opportunities for collaboration with willing water rights holders and private landowners to help ensure the long-term viability of native fish populations in San Juan County.
Thanks in large part to donations of flow from both Olga Water Users and Rosario Resort, we are thrilled to report that the first salmon of the year were able to make it into lower Cascade Creek yesterday.
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Thanks to the Rosario Resort owners and Olga Water Users, Inc. for their temporary donations of water flow into Cascade Creek. Thanks also to Tanya Williamson at the LandBank for laying out this situation for us all to grasp.
But the real hero to me is Jenny De Groot who has tirelessly monitored the fish situation especially the water levels in Cascade Creek for years. This creek is the only remaining coho salmon run in the county. She is focused and tireless in her aim to preserve the native fish ecologies on Orcas and at the same time kind and fair-minded when working with humanoids who may be involved. She deserves all the support our community can give her.
My deepest and heartfelt thanks to you, Jenny DG!
Jenny has saved San Juan County’s last wild coho yet again!
Without her dedication to monitoring the water flows in Cascade Creek and sharing the water needs of the salmon with potential water donors, the wild coho would have had too little fresh water for spawning. Young coho cannot survive in brackish or saltwater. A few days before Rosario Resort owners released an additional pulse of freshwater into the creek, one female coho was beginning to spawn in brackish water because she could not reach a pool of fresh water in the creek. The water flow was inadequate. I am so grateful to Jenny and to the Olga Water Users, Inc. and the owners of Rosario Resort for working together to save the last wild coho in San Juan County!