Between now and December, chum salmon return to spawn in 2.5 miles of freshwater at Kennedy Creek Natural Area.

 

This area provides habitat for coastal cutthroat trout, steelhead, and Coho salmon. The site is known for its robust run of fall chum. The Kennedy Creek Trail is an interpretive site located along the creek that is jointly managed by Taylor Shellfish and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group.

 

After spawning, the salmon carcasses provide important marine derived nutrients to the riparian and estuarine ecosystem, sustaining the health of the flora and fauna. The nutrients from the thousands of carcasses supplement the diets of newly emerged chum fry along with more than 60 different species of wildlife, including the northern river otter, red-tailed hawk and bobcat. Invertebrates living in the intertidal muck consume the carcasses that wash down the creek, after which they are, in turn, consumed by shorebirds. 

 

For more information on the salmon, visit the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group website at spsseg.org/. And you can learn more about the Kennedy Creek Natural Area on our website at www.dnr.wa.gov/KennedyCreek.