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Padden Creek

The Padden Creek watershed drains about 3,830 acres on the south end of Bellingham and includes the sub-basins of Lake Padden and Connelly Creek. Throughout the watershed, the elevation ranges from sea level to 985 feet. The upper watershed consists of several unnamed tributaries that flow through forested parks into Lake Padden; the lower portion is drained by Padden Creek as it meanders 2.9 miles from Lake Padden to Bellingham Bay, through residential development and city parks. The area includes moderate density residential use, forested parks, a golf course, a commercial garden and a retail area.

Several salmonids can be found within the watershed, including coho, chinook, chum, and steelhead, as well as resident and sea-run cutthroat trout. Historically these salmonids could be found throughout the entire watershed. However, in 1982 almost one-half mile (2,300 feet) of Padden Creek between 22nd Street and Fairhaven Park was straightened and buried into a culvert to allow for railroad construction. The watershed upstream of the culvert is considered reasonable spawning habitat, especially for chum, but spawning salmon trying to migrate upstream have not been able to pass through the tunnel because of faster water flow and lack of resting places such as pools. Few fish have completed the journey through the culvert, but many salmonids have been observed spawning and rearing just downstream of this barrier.

The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) and Trout Unlimited have installed fish ladders, baffles, and log structures downstream of Fairhaven Park to improve the quality of fish habitat. However, these efforts will not fix the main challenge to spawning--passage through the culvert. NSEA, local citizens, public officials, Happy Valley and Fairhaven neighborhood residents, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have created the Padden Creek Alliance. Since 1997, the alliance has been meeting to discuss “daylighting”--restoring the creek to an aboveground stream. It has been difficult for the City of Bellingham and the alliance to secure funding for the engineering and construction phase. If the daylight project is funded and completed, salmonids could have access to many more miles of freshwater habitat within the Padden Creek watershed.

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