Join Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Miller Walker Basin Stewardship Program, and Center for Urban Waters as we present our findings from our salmon monitoring of Longfellow Creek as well as Miller and Walker Creek!
During the salmon run each fall, a population of coho salmon enters urbanized waterways to spawn. As coho migrate through these waterways, they encounter a chemical cocktail of toxic runoff from roadways and other paved surfaces. These chemicals severely disorient adult coho and result in Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (URMS) in many individuals, meaning the salmon die before reproducing. Previous surveys conducted by the City of Seattle and NOAA on Longfellow Creek as well as Miller and Walker Creek have found URMS rates of up to 90% amongst females, an alarmingly high statistic. Examining the number of salmon that return to to these creeks every year and documenting the URMS rate are great indicators of the health of our local waterways. Data gathered from these surveys shared with NOAA, the City of Seattle, Department of Fish and Wildlife and King County.
Join us at Dubsea Coffee as we present the results from our surveys, along with a presentation from Dr. Katherine Peter of Center for Urban Waters on the latest research related to URMS.
To RSVP for the event, contact Morgan (morgan@pugetsoundkeeper.org).