Recreate Responsibly
We all live in a watershed - a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points like bays. Salmon are present in our watershed year-round and regardless of where you live and play, your actions can affect the health of our waters. Below are stewardship tips that ensure you are recreating responsibly!
Historical log jam on the South Fork Nooksack River.
Adult chinook holding in an engineered log jam (ELJ) at the Hardscrabble Restoration Project in the South Fork Nooksack River.
Large wood and log jams are a critical component of salmon habitat.
These structures form pools, provide complex hiding cover, stabilize river channels and riverbanks, store gravel, and connect floodplain channels.
Log jams are extremely dangerous. Do not climb on or go near them.
These restoration projects are critical for spring Chinook salmon that return to the river as early as May and need to hunker down in the deep, cold pools that the log jams create until late summer when they spawn. If salmon are scared off by human activity, they will leave these safer shelters and become more susceptible to high summer temperatures and areas of low flow - especially in the South Fork of the Nooksack where heat caused a large pre-spawn mortality event in the summer of 2021.
Photos and information provided by the Nooksack Indian Tribe.
Fishing in Washington is highly regulated to maintain sustainable fisheries. Below are resources to get your reel to the river…(or lake).
Purchase a Recreational Fishing License
Download the Fish Washington App for easy to locate rules and restrictions for your local waterbody.
Call the following hotlines for direct support:
Fishing - 360-902-2500
Shellfish - 360-902-2500
Check out local retailers and organizations for supplies and expertise! Below are some that have supported NSEA’s work:
Keep natural areas clean and healthy by following these easy practices:
Stay on the trail - off trail hiking can disrupt fragile ecosystems. There is a trail for everyone!
Pack out everything you bring in - remove all evidence of your adventures when you leave to keep areas healthy and wild.
Stay of out of creeks - by keeping yourself and others (including pets) out of the water you are less likely to damage critical salmon spawning habitat.
Scoop the poop! - much of the pollution in our waterways comes from poop that gets washed into creeks, even if you think there isn’t one nearby.