Lower Elwha FY 2023 Strait of Juan de Fuca Smolt Monitoring Project

This project supports ongoing smolt monitoring projects in the Strait of Juan de Fuca Watersheds. The monitoring will occur on Salt Creek, East Twin River, West Twin River, and Deep Creek. The Tribe will install fence weirs during spring out-migration to enumerate populations of coho salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. Fiscal year 2023 funding will be used to support smolt out-migration monitoring in 2025 or subsequent years.

Data from this project is used in multiple forums that are of regional or statewide significance. For fisheries management purposes abundance estimates of coho salmon and steelhead from the Strait of Juan de Fuca are used to generate run size estimates necessary to manage fisheries (PFMC process) that may impact those stocks. The data is also being used to evaluate long term restorations efforts in those watersheds. Salt Creek has been monitored for over a decade and has had extensive culvert blockage repairs within the last 5 years. East Twin River, West Twin River and Deep Creek are part of the Washington State Intensively Monitored Watershed (IMW) Program that is assessing effectiveness of watershed restoration at the watershed scale. This data is also critical to long term efforts to assess fish in and fish out and generate estimates of abundance and productivity.