We’re thrilled to celebrate one of Puget Soundkeeper’s volunteers, Whitney Fraser, for receiving the John Beal Environmental Stewardship Volunteer Award. Presented by the Duwamish Alive Coalition, this award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to initiatives aimed towards improving the health of the Green-Duwamish Watershed.
Since 2019, Whitney has volunteered as a salmon surveyor for Puget Soundkeeper’s annual survey along Longfellow Creek. Each fall, volunteers count live and dead salmon along the creek, and necropsy dead salmon to assess whether they spawned before dying. This work has helped collect critical data on Pre-Spawn Mortality and Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (URMS), which deepens our understanding of salmon health in the Green-Duwamish watershed and beyond. “It is rewarding to be part of such a long-running data collection project – and also to be on the treasure hunt of finding salmon,” Whitney says. This information has also supported legislative action to protect urban streams from polluted runoff, including the toxic tire chemical 6PPD-Q.
When asked what inspires her to volunteer, Whitney shared, “Once I moved to Seattle, I realized how good it feels to get to know the particulars of the place you live, and volunteering with PSK helps me do that”.
Whitney’s commitment, experience, and leadership have helped this volunteer effort become an established and impactful program. We’re deeply grateful for her dedication and the lasting impact she has made, and continues to make, within the Green-Duwamish watershed and the broader community.