Samish Watershed Flying for Fish Habitat Tours 2009

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Flying for Fish Habitat Flight Program Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission with support from LightHawk has been providing educational aerial tours throughout Puget Sound for over a decade to help officials and community leaders better understand and protect watershed habitat. In 2009 PSMFC provided flights for Skagit Conservation Education Alliance (SCEA) over the Samish watershed. Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission with support from LightHawk has been providing educational aerial tours throughout Puget Sound for over a decade to help officials and community leaders better understand and protect watershed habitat. In 2009 PSMFC provided flights for Skagit Conservation Education Alliance (SCEA) over the Samish watershed. Pam Goddard

► SCEA was founded in 2002 to provide oversight and periodic review of progress for recently published Watershed Improvement Plans on the Samish, Nookachamps, and Padilla Bay. ► Mission Statement: "To bring people together in the spirit of cooperation to protect, conserve, and enhance the natural ecosystems in the Skagit Watersheds.”

Welcome to the Samish Watershed Tour Samish Bay is located just north of Padilla Bay and South of Bellingham Bay near the border of Skagit and Whatcom counties. The Samish River is the largest tributary to Samish Bay. 75% of the lower Samish watershed is used for agriculture. The mainstem Samish is extensively diked. About 1,100 acres of Samish Bay are used for commercial aquaculture. Species include Pacific oyster, Manila clams, mussels, and geoduck.

Samish River Basin Pam Goddard Samish Bay

Fecal Coliform Fecal coliform bacteria are microscopic organisms that live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals including humans, livestock, cats, dogs, birds and wildlife. The bacteria are carried in feces. Department of Ecology’s review of land uses in the Samish indicates many sources: dysfunctional on-site sewage systems; livestock manure from watering, storing, or spreading too close to ditches or streams; pet waste left to ‘flush-away’ when it rains; waste dumping from boats; and many unprepared fishers and hunters who leave more than their footprints behind.

Samish & Fecal Coliform  1994 (August): shellfish beds closed after a reported fecal coliform illness.  1995: Samish watershed Plan addresses objectives for nonpoint pollution sources  1998: Edison receives community sewer, Blanchard repairs or replaces failing septics.  2003 (December): Samish Bay closed to commercial shellfish harvesting for 3 weeks due to Norovirus outbreak.  2004: Local and state interest in developing Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL) for Samish.  2008 (April) – 2009: 8 commercial shellfish closures due to fecal coliform.  2008: Department of Ecology publishes Samish TMDL  Multi-agency "Clean Samish Initiative”

Points of Interest ► 1. Samish Bay Oyster Farms ► 2. Farm Land ► 3. Thomas Road Bridge ► 4. Dairy Farms ► 5. Cattle Farms ► 6. Upper Watershed ► 7. Friday Creek ► *Hansen Creek Alluvial Fan Restoration

Flight Path *

Fecal Coliform Maps Thomas Road Bridge Sampling Station is used by the Department of Health to close commercial shellfish harvesting. Clean water standards call for fecal coliform (FC) counts of less than 100FC/100ml of water.

70% of the bacteria loading in Samish Bay comes from the Samish river above from where water fowl congregate. 1 Pam Goddard Samish Bay

Bill Dewey Samish Bay Oyster Farms Pacific oysters, Manila clams, and goeducks are commercially grown in Samish Bay.

Farm Land Pam Goddard 75% of the lower Samish watershed is used for agriculture. Dikes were installed to prevent flooding. Much of the Samish farmland is below sea level. 2

Potential Sources of Fecal Coliform Pam Goddard Old or improperly maintained septic systems can leak human waste directly into the river or ground water. Samish Septic Systems

Cattle Farms & Hobby Farms Pam Goddard River Livestock Livestock with direct access to the river can introduce fecal coliform into the system. Manure from fields is washed into the river after rain events. Fencing prevents direct access to the river. A healthy riparian area can intercept field run off and manure before it enters the river as well as provide shade and a healthy habitat for salmon. Potential Sources of Fecal Coliform Riparian Area

Dairy Farms Pam Goddard Dairy farms store manure in lagoons until the dry season when it can be spread on their fields and used as fertilizer. Improperly maintained lagoons can leak and contaminate the river. Potential Sources of Fecal Coliform Manure lagoons

Upper Watershed Pam Goddard Fecal coliform counts in the upper watershed are very low.

Friday Creek Pam Goddard Friday Creek Friday Creek is the largest tributary to the Samish River. It is formed from the over flow of Samish Lake. In 1890 a salmon hatchery was built on Friday Creek. An egg collection station is located on the Samish just below Friday Creek. Fall Chinook, chum, coho, and steelhead can all be found in the Samish.

Keeping the Samish Clean ► Keeping Samish clean is a community effort. Everyone can help whether it is fencing livestock, having a septic system inspected, cleaning up pet waste or using a Port-a-Potty when fishing. For more information contact one of the following. ► Corinne Story, Skagit County Public Health, , ► Pete Haase, Skagit Conservation Education Alliance, , ► Kristi Carpenter, Skagit Conservation District, , ► Rick Haley, Skagit County Public Works, ,

► PSMFC’s Fish Habitat Education Program offers educational aerial and ground watershed tours. ► For ten years, this project has provided hundreds of participants with a vivid experience of local watersheds as well as a means to connect with people, resources, and information. ► It strives to translate awareness into action on behalf of fish habitat.

Partnering with Flying For Fish Habitat Program ► Contact Pam Goddard if you would like to partner with Flying for Fish Habitat NE 54 th Street Seattle, WA Virtual flight tour on web at

► LightHawk provides aerial support for all Flying for Fish Habitat tours. ► Champions environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight. ► The view from above speaks for itself, providing breathtaking clarity of understanding.

Sources  1 Department of Ecology Samish Water Quality website (  2 Department of Ecology Samish Watershed TMDL (  LightHawk (  Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (  Puget Sound Partnership ( ► Skagit Conservation Education Alliance (

Please Share Your Experiences ► This aerial watershed tour has been a collaborative effort between our groups. Only a few individuals can actually fly. ► We hope you will join us in sharing your experiences with others. This PowerPoint show is available at ► Working together we can prioritize tasks and accomplish good things for our fish, our communities, and our economies.