An Update on Kokanee Conservation and the Lake Sammamish Urban - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Bringing Back the Little Red Fish: An Update on Kokanee Conservation and the Lake Sammamish Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership for the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council David St. John King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks and the Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group david.st.john@kingcounty.gov September 18, 2014 Photo: Bill Priest, King County

Focus • Our goals • Our partnership for recovery • Kokanee population facts and figures • Action priorities • Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership

Kokanee Conservation Goal “ Prevent the extinction and improve the health of the native kokanee population such that it is viable and self- sustaining, and then supports fishery opportunities”

Kokanee Work Group Active Partners • Watershed residents • Snoqualmie Tribe • King County • Trout Unlimited • City of Sammamish • Washington State Parks • City of Issaquah • Save Lake Sammamish • City of Bellevue • Friends of Pine Lake • City of Redmond • Darigold • Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery • Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife • US Fish and Wildlife Service • Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park Photo: Roger Tabor, USFWS

Kokanee Biology • smaller form of sockeye salmon Photo: Roger Tabor, USFWS • life cycle is three or four years • lives in natal streams for only a few months after hatching • does not go to the ocean – rears in Lake Sammamish • Lake Sammamish kokanee are genetically unique

Kokanee Biology >90% of our kokanee currently follow this life history… Adults Fry return to migrate to spawn the lake Three summers growing in the lake Fall Winter Spring Summer Fall Winter Spring Summer Fall Winter Spring Summer Fall Winter Spring Summer Spring Summer

Kokanee Distribution – Historic and Current Key Current Spawning Areas These creeks have consistently supported spawning since 1996. Other areas, including for example the lakeshore and Pine Lake, Tibbetts, and Vasa Creeks, are also known to periodically support spawning. Ebright Creek Laughing Jacobs Creek Lewis Creek * - Spawning periodically takes place in other streams as well

Kokanee Diversity • Early Run – August to October run timing; Issaquah Creek focused EXTIRPATED • Middle Run – September to November run timing; Lake Washington and Samm River tribs EXTIRPATED • Late Run – November to January run timing; Lake Sammamish tribs except Issaquah(?) • Shoreline spawners

Includes wild origin Kokanee Abundance only Includes wild and Actual spawner count with 7 day stream life hatchery origin 18000 15823 16000 14000 Anecdotal historical return counts in or above this range 12000 10000 3 summer 8000 7088 life history 6000 4000 Red line is minimum viable 3055 population threshold: 500 fish 2495 2000 1056 1066 1006 981 987 737 548 498 308 145 112 109 53 82 0 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 Hatchery releases

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 Kokanee Abundance 96-97 - '99-00 97-98 - '00-01 98-99 - '01-02 99-00 - '02-03 3-year Running Average Escapement 00-01 - '03-04 01-02 - '04-05 02-03 - '05-06 03-04 - '06-07 04-05 - '07-08 05-06 - '08-09 06-07 - '09-10 07-08 - '10-11 08-09 - '11-12 09-10 - '12-13 10-11 - '13-14 Average Running 3-year

Origin of 12-13 and 13-14 Returns 2012 – 2013 Return : 2013 – 2014 Return : Total Escapement = 15,823 Total Escapement = 308 9% of hatchery origin 32% of hatchery origin 1,424 9% Hatchery Origin 100 Hatchery Origin Escapement Escapement 32% Wild Origin Wild Origin Escapement Escapement 208 14,399 68% 91% • >2/3rds of returns were wild origin fish (… but only 40% in E, LJ, and L in 13 -14) • ‘13 -14 wild origin return was >double the wild origin return in its brood year • The ‘12 -13 hatchery return was larger than the total return in 13 of 16 prior years • Further hatchery proportion growth could indicate a growing habitat problem

Suspected Limiting Factors • Stormwater impacts – high flows in fall/winter • Predation – coho on fry, cutthroat/others on later stages • Fishing – intentional or unintentional due to poor species identification by anglers • ??? Better fish and habitat data would increase certainty!

Habitat Trends – Lake Sammamish Subbasins From 2011 WRIA 8 Land Cover Change Analysis %age forest cover acres forest loss change 1991-2006 1991-2006 Subbasin North Fork Issaquah -30.1 547 East Fork Issaquah -3.6 188 Middle Issaquah -3.5 109 Fifteenmile -1.5 41 Lower Issaquah -0.9 41 Upper Issaquah 2.8 -200 East Lake Sammamish -18.9 922 Tibbetts -6.7 173 McDonald -1 20 Total 1841

Population Status Recap • Abundance: @20% of historic levels on average, at best • Distribution: spawning primarily in only three creeks • Diversity: two of three unique runs extirpated • Productivity: unknown • Still NOT legal to catch and keep kokanee on Lake Sammamish!

Priority Action: Supplementation • Primary funder is US Fish and Wildlife Service, with contributions from WDFW and King County • Scoped to run for twelve years of production, through 2021 • 2007-2009, not enough spawners - 2009-2010 was first year of production • Five consecutive years of production • Employ stream-specific systems to reduce straying • All fish marked for monitoring

Priority Action: Supplementation • Kjhf • Kdfjgh • Sadlkf gj 10,000 fry per bucket 50,000 fry per key stream

Priority Action: Habitat Restoration • Ensure enough habitat quality and quantity when supplementation program ends • Seven of eleven near term kokanee/chinook restoration projects are done or underway • Summer 2014 “Kokanee Blueprint” will identify the next wave of habitat projects After (2012) Before

Priority Action: Habitat Protection • Heavily reliant on work by jurisdictions to implement effective regulatory programs: • Stormwater programs • Critical Areas Ordinances • Shoreline Master Programs • Developing incentive/non-regulatory approaches in jurisdictions: • TDRs • Acquisition

Priority Action: Public Engagement • Increase awareness of kokanee and their decline • Encourage action now to prevent further degradation • Build constituency to sustain long term efforts

Results of Action? tripling Ebright Creek spawning area via Pereyra culvert + supplementation program + hatchery coho release delay + angler education (+ ???) change in population trajectory? + restored access to and habitat in Zaccuse Creek + restored run in Issaquah Creek + effective land use and stormwater management (in & out of UGA) + growing community support consistently productive population?

New Opportunity – Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership • New US Department of Interior initiative • Program goal: Engage urban communities in wildlife conservation in partnership with the Service . • “Create an urban refuge initiative that defines excellence in our existing urban refuges, establishes the framework for creating new urban refuge partnerships and implements a refuge presence in 10 demographically and geographically varied cities across America by 2015.”

New Opportunity – Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership • Lake Sammamish is one of eight pilot Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships nationwide, chosen in 2013 • The Kokanee Work Group is the local host entity • Will help build community and regional stewardship of the resource • Builds on and augments our capacity to engage key constituents • Does not add regulatory requirements or involve federal acquisition of land

New Opportunity – Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership • NEW Interpretive Plan is complete and moving forward • NOW priorities include: • Engaging public and private UWRP partners • Implementing one on-the-ground action in 2014 • Piloting educational programing • Develop short list of projects for funding opportunities • Create work plan • @$100,000 awarded Summer 2014 to begin taking action

New Opportunity – Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership What is the right connection to and level of involvement of the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council?

Questions? David St. John david.st.john@kingcounty.gov (206)477-4517