PORT HADLOCK — The Jefferson Land Trust has continued in its efforts to restore Chimacum Creek with the purchase of a 5-acre parcel near the creek’s mouth.
“This is a key piece both for the chum and the community,” said Jefferson Land Trust Executive Director Sarah Spaeth.
“It is critical spawning habitat with good forest canopy and a healthy spawning ground. And now it will be forever preserved in its natural state.”
The piece was purchased with grants through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Jefferson County Conservation Futures Fund, Spaeth said.
The parcel is well-situated for use as an educational setting, said Jac Entringer of the North Olympic Salmon Coalition.
“We get students outside to see the salmon, to get their hands dirty, to smell and experience this environment,” Entringer said.
Salmon life cycle
“They learn about the salmon’s life cycle and why over 137 species of plants and animals are dependent on the wild salmon.”
While summer chum spawn in the lower portion of Chimacum Creek, many other fish spawn in the upper levels. These include the fall chum, coho, steelhead and cutthroat trout.
Because the summer chum use the lower 2 miles of the creek, the estuary at the mouth is also critical habitat for them.
There, they feed and grow to gain the strength to survive for years in the open ocean before returning to the same waters where they were spawned.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife owns and protects much of the creek corridor and estuary.
Fish and Wildlife has removed mills and other structures at the estuary, and Jefferson County and other organizations and volunteers are working to bring it back to its natural rich state.
