Tis the season... to see salmon

If you live in western Washington, chances are you've heard stories about salmon all your life. But when was the last time you got close to those beautiful fish on a small stream--watched them struggle through water barely deep enough to cover, and give up their last energy stores to reach their gravel spawning beds? It's a great experience, and a wonder to share with family and visitors.

Now is the time to get out and salmon-watch. That's what my wife and I did on Thanksgiving this year as visited Arroyo Creek, just south of Fairhaven on the old Samish Highway. As we approached the creek, we could see splashes and the dark shapes of dozens of chum salmon in the shin-deep water.

Chum salmon average about two feet long and weigh 10 lbs or more. Although they have the most extensive range of all Pacific salmon, they are a largely ignored commercial fish because of their lesser oil content. Like all salmon, they live most of their lives in the ocean and return to their original home stream when it's time to breed. This dependence on streams for breeding makes salmon highly vulnerable to declines in water quality, stream disruption, and culvert construction.

Whether you live in Whatcom County or elsewhere in Washington, the best resource I know for seeing where salmon are breeding in your area is the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's  SalmonScape (wa.gov) tool. The site is an interactive computer map that shows active, historical, and potential salmon breeding streams.  It's a great tool for landowners, planners and even teachers and parents who want to expose their kids to one of the great biological wonders of our world. Yes, and for salmon we are very grateful this holiday season.