Our 2021-2022 Annual Report was mailed to members earlier this month, but if you missed it, here’s the opening message and a link to the complete Report.
Quiet Currents and Far Reaching Ripples
A Note from Director, Rebecca Benjamin
Salmon follow migration pathways starting as a tiny alevin, growing in the streams, making their way to the estuaries where they transform from a freshwater species to a salt-tolerant animal. Onward to the ocean they go, to an unimaginable journey no one has taught them how to navigate. They go on instinct and millennia of ancestral memory. Their work is miraculous. Some feed the ocean web, others feed the human race, and still others make their way back ‘home’ to perpetuate their species. Every day, our work serves one purpose – to make this journey worthwhile for those who make it home, so they have healthy habitat, fresh water and spawning gravel to welcome them. Sometimes our work is bold and attention grabbing (think – constructing a new bridge or culvert or having dozens of community members out planting trees). Other times, it is quiet, mysterious work, known only to those making the journey. This year was one of the years our work was quiet to the onlookers – it was a planning time where we identified, designed and funded restoration projects. No dump trucks or cranes in sight. Our splash came in the form of a new education program and a few planting events. It will be a while before the salmon see the fruits of this year’s work, so for now we’ll tease you with a little taste of what’s to come and immerse you in the joy of educating our next generations.
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Support Salmon Restoration and Education |
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We couldn’t do this work without the generous support of our community. Consider donating this year-end to our Annual Appeal to support our restoration projects and education programs.
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Join us January 28-29 and February 18-19 to plant native trees and shrubs at the Caldero side channel site on the Dungeness River!
Please RSVP below for all dates you plan to attend! You can check our website and follow us on social media for further information and opportunities.
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Photo by Natural Systems Design |
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About the Caldero Side Channel Project |
This past summer, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe approached the Salmon Coalition to assist in revegetating the site of a newly constructed side channel on the Dungeness River, a short distance upstream of Highway 101. The site was acquired by the Tribe in 2017 and is named Caldero after the former landowner. The Caldero side channel project creates nearly 1,000 feet of off-channel habitat for both spawning adult salmon and rearing juveniles.
Side channels such as the one at Caldero are critical refuges for salmon during flood events. This is particularly the case for juveniles, who can be easily overcome by heavy flows. Off-channel habitat can also be important spawning areas for returning adults. In fact, on a recent visit to the project site, Salmon Coalition staff members observed several adult coho salmon utilizing the new channel!
The Salmon Coalition will be hosting several volunteer planting events here this winter and spring. We have several thousand plants to get into the ground and we’ll need your help! If you would like an up-close-and-personal view of the site, we’d love to have you join us at a planting event. We currently have two weekend events scheduled (both Saturday and Sunday). The first is January 28-29 and the second will occur on February 18-19. Come for a day or join us for a whole weekend! If those dates don’t work for you, check our website or social media in the coming weeks for more planting events in early Spring!
Photo by Ælfhild Wiklund
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Stage 8 Restoration: The How's and Why's of NOSC's Upcoming River Restoration Work |
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January 29, 3pm, Fort Worden Chapel
Our very own Project Manager Kevin Long will be the featured speaker for the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s next Future of Oceans lecture series.
Kevin's lecture will showcase upcoming river restoration work on the Olympic Peninsula. The solutions to repairing these reaches will serve as a jumping off point to explore stream evolution, just what happened to the reaches, why they evolved to look the way they do now, and how they can be restored to some of their previous glory for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people.
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Photo of Kevin Long by NOSC Staff |
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Join us every Wednesday evening in January at the Hilltop Tavern (2510 W Sims Way, Port Townsend) from 7 to 9 pm. Play, laugh, and have a grand ol’ time while supporting NOSC. We can’t wait to see you there!
100% of BINGO proceeds go to NOSC to support restoration and education programs.
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Wanted: Weed Control Board Members |
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The Jefferson County Noxious Weed Control Board
is looking for new Board Members!
As an environmental regulatory board under RCW17.10, the Jefferson County Noxious Weed Board strives to preserve and protect our county's ecosystem, agriculture, recreational areas, and citizens from the economic losses and adverse effects associated with noxious weeds. The Weed Board is currently accepting applications for three out of our five districts. District 3 (Marrowstone Island / Chimacum / Port Ludlow), District 4 (Olympic and West End), and District 5 (Quilcene and Brinnon) are currently vacant. Priority will go to applicants who are involved in the primary production of agriculture in any way.
If you are interested in serving as a Board member, please contact Sophie DeGroot at sdegroot@co.jefferson.wa.us or (360) 316-9332.
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Volunteer Spotlight: John Gussman |
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Thank You John Gussman!
We are so grateful for the countless amazing photos John has provided us with over the years. If you have kept up with us via social media, our newsletter, or our annual report, then you have undoubtedly seen John’s work featured prominently. Thank you, John, for all the work you have done in advocating for healthy Olympic Peninsula ecosystems and for proving time and again that pictures can be more impactful than the written word.
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Above: Snow and Salmon Creek Estuary in Discovery Bay - the site of multiple NOSC restoration projects. Photo by John Gussman. Below: The man behind the lens. Photo provided by John Gussman |
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What drew you to a career in photography?
Originally, I decided to pick up a camera to show other people all the beautiful places I was seeing on my outdoor adventures as a young man. This led me to go back to college and get a degree in photography. After college I started working as a pro photographer for a local newspaper and went on from there to the world of commercial photography. Each of us sees the world differently, and as an artist I love that cameras are my tool to show the world my vision.
Tell us about one of your favorite film projects. Why is it a favorite?
My favorite would be the feature length documentary "Return of the River". I did it in collaboration with my film partner Jessica Plumb. This was a 4-year project driven purely by passion to tell the story of the restoration of the Elwha River. It is about the decades-long process of removing 2 dams on the river and the freeing of an ecosystem and its salmon, after being held hostage for almost 100 years.
What do you enjoy most about working with groups like the Salmon Coalition?
I love working with various groups and individuals like NOSC because we all have the common goal of trying to right the wrongs humans have wrought on our planet. By educating and informing the public about the workings of Mother Earth, and how we are all connected to nature, we can win more hearts and minds to do the right thing. We will not save what we do not love.
We’ve noticed that salmon are a popular subject matter in your work. What fascinates you most about salmon?
Well, I do love salmon, and like so many other animals, I am constantly in awe of how determined these fish are to survive and prosper against such high odds against them. Being a keystone species is also very important to the ecosystems they inhabit.
Lastly, what do you want to make sure our readers know?
I would like your readers to realize even one person can make a difference to help heal our home. And by being part of a larger collective that power increases by leaps and bounds. Respect the earth and nurture her. Nature does not need us to survive but we sure need nature.
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Volunteers planting at the River's Edge restoration site along the Dungeness River. Photos by John Gussman |
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Happy holidays and warm winter wishes from everyone at NOSC!
Looking for a last-minute gift idea for someone who cares about the restoration and education work we do?
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Left to right: Sarah Doyle, Rebecca Benjamin, Nate Roberts, Maude Richards, Kevin Long, Lindsay McCord, Ælfhild Wiklund wishing you all the best from Caldero. (Libby Pratt and LJ Stensgar, not pictured). Photo by Sarah Doyle |
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Header photos left to right: NOSC Staff; John Gussman; Charles Espey |
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Base funding for the RFEG program comes from a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, a portion of state commercial and recreational fishing license fees, and excess egg and carcass sales administered by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. |
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Give Us Your Feedback
Questions or Comments? Let us know what you think!
outreach@nosc.org
360.379.8051
www.nosc.org
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