The Power of Partnership in Chimacum Creek

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Originating in the hills above Beaver and Center valleys, Chimacum Creek flows through the fertile lowlands, home to many of Jefferson County’s oldest family farms and prime agricultural land.

Chimacum Creek is a special waterway. It nourishes the soils of vibrant local farms, creates important wildlife habitat, and provides spawning and rearing conditions for coho and chum salmon.

For me, Chimacum Creek is where our organization and others began to fully realize the power of partnership in action and found that pooling our resources and working together amplifies and magnifies our collective impact.

The effort began in the late 1980s, soon after the Land Trust was founded, when a blown culvert filled lower Chimacum Creek with so much sediment that the summer chum run was completely wiped out.

This local tragedy galvanized the community. Volunteers from Wild Olympic Salmon were some of the first responders, working to break up and remove the sediment and clean the gravel so that fish could spawn again. They also began rearing summer chum from nearby Salmon Creek that could be released into Chimacum Creek. For these volunteers, bringing the salmon back was important for spiritual, cultural, and environmental reasons. Their work laid the foundation for three decades of successful salmon recovery work in our county.

In 2000, the Land Trust, in concert with partners such as North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC), Jefferson County Conservation District, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), WSU Extension, and others came together to form the Chumsortium Collaborative. Together, we began working to protect and restore land along the creek to create healthy habitat for the fish to survive and thrive.

Because of this partnership, and the willingness and support of the community, we’ve been able to address the health of an entire watershed in an integrated way. Partners in Chumsortium continue to work in concert to prioritize, plan, protect, and restore salmon habitat throughout east Jefferson County.

Over the years, through a combination of landowner agreements and property purchases, the Land Trust and WDFW have protected a substantial string of properties along the creek. At the same time, NOSC and the Conservation District have worked to restore the land directly adjacent to the creek. To do so, they plant native trees and shrubs that provide shade and keep the water cool for salmon. They also work to control invasive species so these native plantings can take hold.

The partnership extends well beyond the Chumsortium Collective. Over the past three decades, community members of all ages have become involved in caring for the creek by volunteering with NOSC, the Land Trust, and other organizations. Running in tandem with this return of the salmon has been a revitalization of agriculture in Chimacum, with many farmers who care deeply about the land willing to partner for the health of salmon.

While the recovery of salmon in Chimacum Creek is considered one of Hood Canal region’s most successful salmon recovery efforts, there’s still much to do. In addition to adding and restoring habitat, a major priority is removing and preventing the spread of reed canary grass in the creek—an invasive plant that’s extremely destructive to salmon habitat.

This is where things get complicated. Shade is the only effective way to deal with reed canary grass. Planting trees creates shade. Beavers like to use trees to create ponds (and Beaver Valley got its name for a reason). And farmers want to keep ponds to a minimum. These are complex issues.

To develop a plan to address these interrelated issues, NOSC applied for and was awarded a National Estuaries Program grant. Under the grant, four partners are working together to find a way to strike a balance between salmon, agriculture, reed canary grass, and beavers in Chimacum Creek.

Work is currently underway to protect more summer chum habitat at the estuary and lower main stem of Chimacum Creek. And the Land Trust is working with a couple of willing landowners to purchase easements that will allow for the restoration of coho rearing habitat along the creek.

Chimacum Creek is a perfect example of what we can accomplish when we join forces and work together.

If you’re interested in learning more, Rebecca Benjamin - Executive Director of NOSC; Anita Schmucker - VP and Branch Mgr of 1st Security Bank in Hadlock, and I will be speaking about the power of partnership at the next Chamber of Jefferson County luncheon. The luncheon is at 11:45 a.m., November 5 at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge (555 Otto Street). Lunch is available for purchase from Subway and guests are welcome ($5 suggested donation).

Sarah Spaeth is director of conservation and strategic partnerships for Jefferson Land Trust (www.saveland.org). She works closely with landowners and community members, as well as governmental and nonprofit agencies to shepherd land projects through to protection. Jefferson Land Trust’s column relating local stories of the land will appear monthly in The Leader.