Our next meeting will be held at the Oak Tree Restaurant in Woodland, WA., on October 21, 2004 at 7 p.m. Project managers will give updates and progress reports on projects from this summer and fall. Please plan to attend.

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Fish First volunteers near completion this week on the Harteloo Project near Amboy, on a spring-fed stream that empties into Cedar Creek.

“The purpose of this project was to increase stream complexity with the addition of a side channel. The total side channel length is about 368 feet. The existing side channel was dug out and the banks are being re-vegetated. Woody material was added to the channel to provide cover for rearing salmonids.” said John DiVittorio. “We received the HPA permit from WDFW for the Harteloo Side Channel Project on Friday, September 17.”

Dick Dyrland added, “Completing this side channel tapped into a high quality spring of water. It could be used as a rearing pool. We would like to add some gravel to the existing outflow channel because there is some evidence of fish spawning.”

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The nutrient enhancement truck was stolen as it sat in a members driveway last Saturday night, September 25. It suffered damage to the grill and headlamp after a juvenile male, 17, Woodland, reportedly stole the truck and led police officers on a chase between Woodland and Kalama. The truck was abandoned after striking a fence and the thief took off on foot. He was later apprehended by a canine unit in the vicinity of Shirley Gordon Rd., Woodland.

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We’re trying something new! When you arrive at the October meeting, a member will greet you at the door and encourage you to wear a name tag.

Graphic displays of Fish First projects will be placed around the room. We encourage members to spend some time at those displays and to ask board members to answer questions.

Membership applications in a convenient wallet size and in the full sheet size are on the back table as well as a few project books. Please take some to share.

With the assistance of WDFW and Clark Co.-Vancouver Parks & Recreation, Fish First volunteers were able to cut off and fill in the diversion of Manly Road Creek, where it runs into an old concrete dump pond. The diversion of the creek was causing a substantial loss of T&E species salmonids. (Manley Rd. Creek empties into the East Fork Lewis below Daybreak Bridge.)

We were able to get donated, high-quality fill dirt and trucking from Rinker-Pac Rock,long enough to fill from above the ordinary high water mark and into the south end of the old pond.

We did not fill any normal flood plain area but did fill in the down-cut diversion channel to a level consistent with the adjacent ground and continued filling to ground level into the old pond.The material used was a high quality loam. It was leveled and compacted, seeded, and covered with hay to prevent any erosion. The site was checked after the recent hard rains and there was no erosion of the materials or site. The culvert on the main road was checked before and after and the trucking and had no adverse impacts on it. All the activities were documented with "Before & After" photos of the site and adjacent or related areas.

We are now waiting for more material to become available so we can finish filling in the old concrete pond.

We greatly appreciate the ongoing cooperation of Fisheries, Parks, the Ameri-Corp Team, and others who are working to restore the proper functioning and potential of this valuable stream. In addition, the Clark County Commissioners have implemented strong steps to protect the headwaters of this spring-fed stream and they appreciate the collaboration shown by all involved to make this effort a success.

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Board member Dan Balch and his grandson Danny Balch have gone the extra mile for our organization.

For the last four weeks the Balch team picked up 700 Chinook carcasses every Tuesday to place in our ‘egg box’ streams. Every day they pick up 150 to 200 steelhead carcasses to put into the main stem North Fork.

They spent three days building net pens for placement in Merwin and Dan (senior) met with PP& L personnel about the new net pen placement and fish feeding arrangements which he begins in November.They have volunteered to do paperwork and bagging in the fish harvest, egg taking process because they were short handed at the hatchery.

Boys- your time is a valuable service to our organization.

THANK YOU!

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A six year study by Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) tracking adult coho returns to Cedar Creek displayed 1075 adults using the screw trap at the grist mill site during the 2003 - 2004 winter season. This is up from the original 260 adults that were caught in the trap in 1999.

“There is a marked increase in wild and native coho that have passed through the trap on Cedar Creek, said John Weinheimer, WDFW fish biologist. “A culmination of a lot of things had been decreasing fish populations over time for many years. Fish First’s many varied projects on Cedar Creek are turning that around.

”Cedar Creek, a tributary of the North Fork Lewis river historically was scoured and void of spawning gravel, woody debris and side channels in its upper reaches.

Fish First began restoration projects on Cedar Creek at Pigeon Springs in 1997, by restoring and planting stream bank and placing 500’ of fence to keep cattle out of the creek. Since then Fish First members have done more fencing, pasture reclamation, built bridges, repaired stream banks opened upstream habitat blocked by poorly constructed culverts, placed root wads, compression rock and spawning gravel and cleaned up two dairies.

“There is no question that the increase in production is due to fish having the habitat to use.” said Weinheimer. “Ocean conditions are optimum. Because of this, we see more fish survival as they return from the ocean. And the habitat in Cedar Creek is there for them.”

Dick Dyrland attributes the marked increase in returning adults and jacks to a wide range of Fish First projects that have enhanced the stream over the last seven years. “The stream reaches that were treated had almost no spawning for over 20 years.” said Dyrland. “Now we have adult salmonids spawning all over these areas and have observed large numbers of fry and later parr emerging and rearing in these same reaches.” “Fish First’s totally integrated restoration program is working. This is due to culvert replacements, egg boxes, side channels, spawning gravel placement, addition of root wads and nutrients.”

Dyrland added, “We appreciate the cooperation of WDFW, NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) and others in playing key rolls to help bring this about on Cedar Creek. The results are well above what any change that improved ocean conditions could generate.”

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Three new net pens were constructed in September and later placed into Lake Merwin near Cresap Bay. The pens replace two 30x30x30’ older pens that were a hazard. Each time five guys pulled the empty pens up to clean off algae that builds up on the nets, the pen frames would sink knee deep in the Bay from the weight.

The three new pens are smaller 20’ wide x 20’ long x 20’ deep and are easier to manage. “The buoys are in a really good spot,” said Dan Balch. “They are about 1 7/10 mile from the Speelayi boat ramp in 65’ of water. The site is protected by a point of land that will serve as shelter from some of the westerly winds. The old site was in 32’ of water and when PP&L dropped the water level 20’ in Merwin, our nets would tangle up in tree stumps. “ They are in the process of dropping the water level in the lake 27’ right now. When they reach that level, a new boat ramp will be built at Speelayi.”

Balch added, “ Fish were spawned this week at the hatchery and live Kokanee fry will be placed in the pens in November, bringing their population to 48,000. 50,000 steelhead will also be planted in the lake at or near that time. These fish will be fed and raised in the pens until May 2005. At that time the Kokonee will be released into Merwin and the steelhead will be pumped into a truck and taken to the Lewis River bridge near Woodland and released.”

We had eleven people help with construction at the Loomis ‘Fish First’ barn on Saturday, Sept. 25. Two new first time Fish First volunteers, Allen Howell, a construction contractor from Portland, brought his own equipment and John Stotka, a retired La Center resident, helped with the nuts and bolts of net pen construction. Other members who pitched in to help were Ron & Arlene Andreason, Sam Kysar, Pat Brentin, Les Greear, Jack Kaeding, Dan and Danny Balch and Gary Loomis.

Thanks to everyone of you!