Vashon Island Stream Survey and Stream Mouth Inventory

In June 2000, Washington Trout completed water-typing surveys to map fish and fish habitat distribution on almost every stream on Vashon Island, in central Puget Sound. During the surveys, crews collected supplementary data on culverts, sediment sources, water withdrawals, and other instream features, and WT created an interactive GIS map-set to disseminate the fish-distribution and other information (available on the WT web site at www.washingtontrout.org). Vashon Island’s typically small, low gradient streams provide habitat for coho, other salmon species, and sea-run cutthroat trout. The survey results will help ensure that wild-fish habitats on Vashon Island receive adequate protection from pending development and other land-use practices.

While Vashon Island retains some intact estuaries, many potentially fish-bearing streams are blocked from near-shore habitats by poorly designed bulkheads.

In April and May 2001, with funding from the Trout and Salmon Foundation and the Vashon Island Audubon Society, Washington Trout will return to Vashon Island to complete water-typing surveys on Judd Creek and its tributaries, the island’s largest watershed. The 2001 project will also include a comprehensive inventory of the island’s shoreline bulkheads. Bulkheads are important features on island streams because, like poorly designed culverts, they can often block fish from miles of suitable habitat. During the 2000 surveys, WT crews identified several bulkheads that disconnected potentially fish-bearing streams from their estuarine and near-shore habitats.