Barr Creek Project 20 Year Anniversary
A History of the Barr Creek Projects
Excerpted from the Northshore Newsletter
1996 marks the 20 year anniversary for the Northshore
Chapter's Barr Creek imprinting pond project. Early in April we will
receive approximately 25,000 steelhead
smolts, as we have for the last nineteen years. We will feed these fish
for 3 to 4 weeks and then release them into the Skykomish River. It is
our hope and the project's goal that two years from now, when the
returning adult steelhead ascend the river, they will gather off the
mouth of Barr Creek or hold in the lower river reaches. If they do, it
will improve the angler opportunity in that area.
Our fish come to us from the hatchery at Reiter Ponds. Hatched from
eggs taken from returning hatchery females and fertilized by returning
hatchery males, these fish are selected and bred for their early return
timing so that they remain genetically distinct from late returning
native steelhead. The smolts are transported by truck to our facility at
Barr Creek. Some of the young steelhead will have begun to smolt as
early as February and all of them will have smolted by April. Data used
by the Department of Fish and Wildlife indicate that imprinting can take
place in as little as 2 weeks. We hold the smolts back and release them
with the new moon. This strategy is designed to cause them to hurry out
of the watershed. This minimizes the impact on the river of a combined
hatchery release of a hundred thousand or more hungry
smolts.
The Barr Creek imprinting facility consists of a concrete dam
constructed across the creek in a place that creates a pond. Every year
in late March Northshore Chapter members meet to prepare the pond for
the arrival of the
smolts. Boards are placed across the dam's spillway to raise the water
level in the pond. Automatic feeder stations are set up and heavy
monofilament nylon line is strung across the pond to create a barrier to
flying predators. After the fish are delivered volunteers check the
pond and fill the feeders every other day. When the new moon arrives the
boards and screens are removed from the spillways and with the rush of
water draining from the pond the fish begin their downstream migration.
The project was first conceived in 1973 when the Department of Wildlife
asked our chapter if we would be interested in imprinting some
steelhead on the lower river. Fishing had dropped off in the Skykomish
River and the club was looking for a project. The Barr Creek imprinting
project was a wonderful idea that could even improve the fishing. Our
chapter began to evaluate streams between Sultan and Monroe. Barr Creek
was chosen as the likely site because it was located within the area
specified by the Department of Wildlife and because we had the
cooperation of landowner Dick Barr. Stream surveys were conducted over
the next two years at seasonal intervals to determine the possible
existence of native fish. The Department of Wildlife was concerned that
the project might interfere with natural production on the creek. The
surveys indicated that no fish were present so the location was
approved.
While the Department of Wildlife took care of the permit process,
chapter members set about designing a dam. The original dam was located
in the same spot as is presently in use. It was constructed of sandbags,
two deep, laid across the stream and stacked about three feet high.
Local farmers donated burlap bags and our chapter had a sandbag-filling
party at the Hoco Pit in Sultan. Northshore Chapter members hauled the
bags in pickup trucks to Barr Creek where they constructed the dam.
During the first night the water level rising behind the dam caused it
to fail. Sand bags were strewn far downstream and club members arriving
the next day were surprised to find their efforts wasted. But
determination won the day as members reorganized and rebuilt the dam.
This time the sandbags were placed two deep but oriented so that their
length was parallel to the stream. This made the dam considerably wider
and more stable. This time the dam held and the first steelhead smolts
were delivered on schedule, early in April 1976.
A single feeder controlled by a timer was built and placed at Barr
Creek that first year. Members had quite a job trying to calibrate the
timer to release the correct amount of feed daily. It took several days
of experimentation to get it right. That first year, despite the
setbacks, turned out to be a great success and club members rallied
around the project.
One of the drawbacks of the sandbag construction was that the bags had
to be emptied and refilled every year. After two years of filling
sandbags, members decided to design and build a permanent structure. A
concrete dam was built and things looked considerably easier.
Unfortunately, after one year a flood washed out the south end of the
dam and half of the structure collapsed. Members again rallied and
modifications were made that left the dam as it is today. A second
feeder station was added at that time. Having weathered some major
floods without further damage, it looks as if we finally have a design
that will last. The project has operated smoothly since with over half a
million steelhead smolts imprinted to date.
Over the years the Barr Creek Project has brought our Chapter
recognition and respect within the community and on a state level. We
have been recipients of a number of awards including the 1979 Steelhead
Trout Award for overall outstanding chapter and the 1980 Silver Trout
award for chapter project of the year, both presented by the Northwest
Steelhead and Salmon Council. But more important than that, many
Northshore Chapter members have had the satisfaction that comes with
hands-on participation in fisheries enhancement projects. Being involved
is a rewarding experience and the Barr Creek project has served as a
focal point for our membership.
In 1994 we conducted a snorkel survey on Barr Creek and identified
steelhead and Coho salmon fingerlings. The discovery generated renewed
interest in Barr Creek because it demonstrated the existence of natural
production where there had been none. Members have seen adult steelhead
spawning in the creek for a number of years. Walt Rose, president of the
chapter at the inception of the Barr Creek project, is convinced that
these spawners are descendants of fish imprinted at our facility.
In March of 1995 club members walked Barr Creek and identified
productive habitat. We videotaped the stream and mad a detailed map. We
have had a number of fisheries' biologists look at the stream and they
agree that there is untapped potential for natural production of
steelhead. We are hopeful that we can develop a project that would tap
that potential by enhancing the natural characteristics of the stream.
Efforts are underway to develop a specific proposal to present to the
land owners for there approval.
Monroe resident Dick Barr operates the farm on which our imprinting
pond is located. I visited Dick at his farm recently and listened as he
described the huge runs of salmon that used to run up Barr Creek years
ago. "It's not like it was before," he told me. I shared his
disappointment. Dick would like to see the salmon return as would all of
us. He even said he might start fishing the Skykomish River again if
they did.
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