NSEA’s Stream Stewards Program provides opportunities for our communities to get outside and improve salmon habitat. This fall, 581 volunteers spent over 1,700 hours doing just that! Between October and December, we hosted 15 events along 8 different creeks in Whatcom County that are home to salmon, including coho, chum, and endangered Steelhead and Chinook. By removing over 63 cubic yards of invasive vegetation and planting 1,093 native trees and shrubs, these volunteers improved 1.65 miles of streamside habitat.
Notable events this season included Orca Recovery Day where volunteers supported regional efforts to protect our Southern Resident Killer Whales which are critically endangered due to a lack of their main food source, salmon, by improving habitat along California Creek in Drayton Harbor. This event was only possible with the fantastic partnership between us, the Whatcom Conservation District, and the Whatcom Land Trust. We also joined the City of Bellingham for Make a Difference Day again this year in Whatcom Falls Park to support improved water quality in Whatcom Creek. Lastly, with leadership from the City of Bellingham, we hosted a work party in honor of Dave Taylor, a dedicated steward of Squalicum Creek and friend to NSEA, who passed away last year. We continued work along Squalicum Creek with the help of friends, family, and neighbors, and we even got to see the fruits of our labors as a female chum salmon hovered around for most of the event.
Every event we get to host is special thanks to the amazing community that continues to support our work. Our Stewardship Appreciation Program (SAP) says thank you to anyone that joins us for 3 or more work parties in a calendar year. With so many different opportunities throughout this year, we ended with fall season with 61 SAPs! We are continually impressed and inspired by the people that join us throughout the year and are looking forward to a full, rewarding 2023. Join us for the first event of the new year in honor of Martin Luther King Junior on Saturday, January 14. We will be joining the City of Bellingham at the Little Squalicum Estuary Project. This will be a wonderful way to give back and have a hand in building up this beautiful park and estuary habitat. Space is very limited, so check out www.cob.org/mlk2023 for more information.