September 2006
Registration for the 2006 Salmon Summit is now open! This year's summit, Thinking Like a Watershed: From Words to Action, will be held on November 2, 2006. Please visit the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association site to register.

February 2006
The final report on the Whatcom County Fish Passage Barrier Inventory (culvert inventory) has been completed, and is now available for download.

July 2005
Whatcom County Public Works has released the Roadmap for Recovery, the executive summary of the draft WRIA 1 Salmonid Recovery Plan. The summary describes the reasons behind the decline of two species threatened by extinction--chinook salmon and bull trout—as well as eight key actions that need to occur within the next ten years to jump-start recovery.

“In Whatcom County, we pride ourselves on our quality of life and our environment, and healthy, self-sustaining salmon runs are critical to both,” said County Executive Pete Kremen. “The eight key actions in The Roadmap describe the immediate steps to slow the decline of our runs, while we work on long-term projects to restore salmon habitat. I’m very proud that our local community has come together voluntarily to develop this plan.”

The public is invited to an open house about the recovery plan on Tuesday, July 19, 4-7 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of Whatcom County Public Works, 322 N. Commercial St, Bellingham.

The Roadmap for Recovery is based on a much longer and more technical document, the WRIA 1 Salmonid Recovery Plan. Authored by technical experts from the Nooksack Tribe, Lummi Nation, local governments, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the 300-page recovery plan analyzes data from a hundred years’ worth of research, identifying key habitat factors that limit salmon populations, as well as projects and other actions to remedy those problems. The recovery plan focuses on early-timed (spring) chinook and bull trout in the Nooksack River basin, but also sketches out the groundwork for recovery of other salmon species and restoration of the independent coastal creeks.

In addition, the Nooksack recovery plan is part of a regional salmon recovery plan called the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, which was released on June 30. The regional plan includes 14 local watershed chapters as well as regional and cross-watershed strategies. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agencies charged with overseeing chinook salmon and bull trout recovery, will consider whether the regional plan meets the requirements of the Endangered Species Act to protect and rebuild fish populations.

April 6, 2004
Cities, counties, private landowners, conservation districts, state agencies, tribes, non-profit organizations, and special purpose districts are invited to apply for the fifth round of state Salmon Recovery Funding Board grants to help recover salmon runs in Whatcom County.

For information about eligible projects, developing successful applications, and the selection process, Whatcom County Water Resources invites prospective applicants to an April 13 workshop, 3-5 p.m., at Whatcom County Public Works, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 322 N. Commercial St., Bellingham.

The grants may be used for projects that benefit salmon, such as acquiring land, restoring estuarine/nearshore, streamside, or instream habitats, and fish related assessments and studies. The project sponsor-the organization or individual applying for the grant-is required to provide a 15 percent match of the total grant amount. This year, $26 million will be allocated to recovery projects around the state.

Prospective applicants must submit a letter of intent to Whatcom County Water Resources by April 16; the full applications are due to Whatcom County Water Resources by May 21.

For more information, contact Kent Doughty at (360) 734-5915 ext. 226.

September 2003
Are your habits salmon-friendly? This checklist is designed for kids, but anyone can take it and see if their everyday behavior helps or hurts salmon.

Looking for a specific plan or other document? Try the Documents page.