Squaxin continues to investigate sources of bacteria in Oakland Bay. Recently Tribal scientists, county staff and conservation district staff converged on a small tributary stream with high levels of bacteria. We divided the stream into segments and collected two water samples at the downstream end of each segment. The results will be available in a week or so.
A press release went out this afternoon, highlighting a recent study by the tribe on sediment in the Deschutes River:
A nearly 20 year old landslide is still hurting salmon according to a recently completed analysis of sediment in the Deschutes River by the Squaxin Island Tribe.
“The sediment from that landslide is still working its way through the river system,” said John Konovsky, environmental program manager for the Squaxin Island Tribe. “It has a relatively high proportion of minute dirt particles that continue to hinder coho reproduction.”
In January 1990, a huge storm hit the Deschutes River blocking an old culvert under a logging road. The resulting landslide sent tons of hillside sediment into Huckleberry Creek, a headwater tributary to the Deschutes.