King County urges feds to protect kokanee salmon

July 14, 2009

By Warren Kagarise

Conservationists seeking to protect threatened Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon received a boost last week from King County leaders.

The King County Council called on federal officials June 29 to list kokanee salmon under the Endangered Species Act. Local and state environmental groups had previously urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the salmon species.

“It’s significant in so much as the County Council unanimously supports the motion,” said Joanna Buehler, president of Save Lake Sammamish. Buehler said the County Council’s motion underscores the need for U.S. Fish and Wildlife to take action. “The actions are being taken now at the local level. Particularly, King County has been a good friend to the kokanee.”

The motion passed by the County Council also recommends for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to follow through with a proposed breeding program to help the kokanee.

Experts disagree on exactly how many Lake Sammamish kokanee remain. Trout Unlimited’s estimates are fewer than 100, while Buehler said she thinks it’s more than 100. Both agree that the number is dwindling. Attempts to introduce other varieties of kokanee into the lake have been unsuccessful.

“If these kokanee in Lake Sammamish go away, there will be no kokanee in Lake Sammamish,” said Mark Taylor, Washington Council president of Trout Unlimited.

Taylor said he expects a decision regarding the kokanee from federal officials as early as next year. He credited county officials for encouraging federal officials to protect the salmon. He noted how the effort to protect the kokanee had attracted support from several quarters.

The County Council’s motion commended the cities of Sammamish, Issaquah, Redmond and Bellevue for their conservation efforts.

Lake Sammamish kokanee are similar to sockeye salmon, but kokanee are smaller and live in landlocked bodies of water. The species lives in Lake Sammamish and spawns in nearby streams.

Taylor said 20 million to 40 million non-native kokanee had been introduced to Lake Sammamish since the 1980s — but the introduced fish did not survive. Taylor said scientists are unsure why, though speculation ranges from specific water conditions to a virus present in the lake to which Lake Sammamish kokanee are immune.

“Only natives will live in the lake, as far as we know,” Taylor said.

Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery Executive Director Gestin Suttle said it was important for county leaders to add their voices to the issue.

“I think the council’s position will help build a chorus in favor of action for this vulnerable species,” Suttle wrote in an e-mail.

Lake Sammamish kokanee were once a staple for the Snoqualmie Tribe. Kokanee once numbered in the thousands and the species supported a subsistence fishery for the Snoqualmie.

County officials noted the importance of the kokanee to the lake ecosystem.

“With the kokanee population hovering at the brink of extinction, this is a matter for urgent and immediate action,” Councilman Larry Phillips said in a news release. “The kokanee play a historic role in the Lake Sammamish ecosystem, and we must protect the small number that remain and take actions that will allow the species to survive.”

Officials attribute the decline of kokanee in the lake to habitat loss. The study recommends a hatchery program be implemented as soon as possible in order to protect the remaining fish.

“Proper protection of the Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon needs to begin immediately,” Council Vice Chairwoman Jane Hague said in the release. “It is critical that the federal and state governments recognize their importance to our region and act now to prevent their extinction.”

Reporter Warren Kagarise can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.