GLENWOOD HOME

PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS

HISTORY

STAFF

PARTNERS

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Glenwood Projects and Programs

Chinook rearing
Glenwood Springs' first program, begun privately in 1978 by Jim Youngren soon after he acquired the property, was an experimental attempt to generate a chinook run where none had previously existed. Working with Washington State Department of Fisheries staff, Youngren used chinook eggs from the state's Samish River Hatchery to rear and release approximately 150,000 chinook annually for the next three years.

When the first adults returned in 1982, hatchery staff took eggs from these fish, and the run has been propagated from returning fish ever since. When Long Live the Kings was founded in 1985, the organization took over management of Glenwood Springs Hatchery. Since that time LLTK has released several hundred thousand "zero-age" fall chinook (so called because they are released before they are one year old) each spring.

Because there are no wild chinook originating in the area, Glenwood Springs provides a unique opportunity support commercial and sports fisheries while posing no threat to imperiled fish.

Since 1997 Glenwood Springs has also reared and released yearling chinook as part of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife's Puget Sound Recreational Enhancement Program. These fish are reared in large, natural ponds from the spring of their first year through late spring of their second. The theory is that keeping them in fresh water for an extra year encourages them to take up residence in Puget Sound, rather than heading out to the Pacific. A portion of the fish are marked and tagged (see "Tagging and marking" below) in order to test this theory. LLTK released 100,000 of these yearlings in 1997 and the same number in 1998, then 200,000 annually since 1999.

All chinook eventually are allowed to migrate out of the freshwater rearing ponds over a period of two to three months (called a "volitional release"), rather than being forced out all at one time. A saltwater mixing pond, which mimics an estuary environment, is located at the mouth of Glenwood Springs' short stream course and gives juvenile fish a chance to adjust to saltwater, before they reach the higher salt concentrations of Eastsound Bay.

Adult survival is an important measure of the success of any hatchery program. At Glenwood it is measured by how many fish return to the hatchery and how many are caught. Returns to the hatchery vary from year to year; however, the average from 1983 to 2003 is approximately 740 annually, more than enough to sustain the run. Marking and tagging Glenwood fish (see "Tagging and marking" below) will allow LLTK in coming years to determine how many are caught and which release strategy (zero-age or yearling) leads to increased adult survival.

Coho rearing
A coho program was successfully initiated at Glenwood in 1997, using Nooksack River eggs. LLTK has reared 100,000 yearling coho in one of Glenwood's natural lakes each year since 1997. As a result of this program, there is a popular coho sportfishery in East Sound, where the returning adults congregate each fall. These fish are also mass marked, to allow for selective fishing (see "Tagging and marking" below).

Tagging and marking
Tagging and marking fish is a key aspect of Glenwood Springs' operations. Marking distinguishes them from wild fish, informing fishermen that they are hatchery fish, not of wild origin, and that the angler can keep that fish if it's of legal size. Over the years Glenwood Springs Hatchery has relied on paid helpers and local volunteers to complete the time-consuming task of manually clipping each fish's adipose fin.

In past years, 15 temporary helpers were needed for more than six weeks to manually mark 300,000 or more fish. But since 2002 Northwest Marine Technology has donated the services of its automated Marking And Tagging System (MATS) trailer. Thanks to this generous donation, some 500,000 fish can be marked and/or tagged in just under three weeks.

During its several-second journey through the MATS system, each juvenile salmon has its tiny adipose fin mechanically removed and has a coded wire tag automatically injected into its snout. The fish are never touched by human hands and are not anesthetized. They also remain underwater throughout the process and are handled for seconds instead of minutes.

Research projects
Along with programs that directly increase the number of salmon available for sustainable fisheries, Glenwood Springs' facilities and staff are resources for the research community and for local educators.

Near-shore habitat research. In summer 2002, LLTK staff monitoring an underwater camera were surprised to see that the chinook and coho juveniles released the previous spring were still nearby, living along the existing shoreline. Dr. Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, a marine analyst from the UW School of Marine Affairs, is interested in working with LLTK to assess the feasibility of habitat improvements in this near-shore area. One example would be the reintroduction of eelgrass communities into the bay, to provide cover and boost the marine prey base for outmigrating juvenile salmon.

European green crab monitoring. The European green crab, a nonnative predator that feeds voraciously on shellfish, was discovered in Washington waters in 1998. Since then more than 850 adult European green crabs have been captured in Willapa Bay and more than 250 in Grays Harbor. LLTK participates in a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife green-crab monitoring program, using a modified crayfish trap in the saltwater bay at Glenwood Springs. No green crabs have been found. The project is through 2006.

Otter disease monitoring. In 2003, under the direction of the SeaDoc Society's Dr. Jo Gados who studies the disease threats facing marine-foraging river otters, LLTK staff identified locations of otters on the property, and then assisted in trapping and sampling them for disease. This work will help us better understand and protect these important mammals, as well as provide information on the role river otters may play in diseases that affect humans, domestic animals, and other wildlife. A brief description of the project is provided at SeaDoc Society's web site.

Creating a self-sustaining run. Glenwood Springs' unique set of circumstances suggest an intriguing question: Would it be possible to create a self-sustaining run on a stream that has never supported one—to create a habitat that fish would use for spawning naturally, without human intervention? LLTK has met with researchers to explore the feasibility of pursuing the answer at some point, though no project is currently underway.