MEET NINE SALMON SPECIES Many types of salmon and trout spawn in the waters of King County. Nine of the most common ones Living with are listed below. Steelhead and cutthroat trout were recently added to the salmon genus, Oncorhynchus, from the trout genus, Salmo.

Bull trout (Male and Bull trout can be anadromous but are also known SALMON for having many variations on a freshwater resident life female bull trout have a history. They are seldom found in streams with summer in King County similar appearance.) temperatures above 18° C. Chinook (king) are the largest of the Pacific salmon and reach up to 80 pounds and 58 inches long. They can leap Learn more 10 feet! After hatching, some Chinook spend up to a year in Understanding salmon is the key to living freshwater, but most migrate to the sea within a few months, Chinook (male) Chinook (female) with them. Find field guides and books spending several years there before returning to spawn. about salmon at your local library. Learn Chum (dog) do not stay in streams long after hatching. about salmon recovery at They spend three to four years at sea before returning to www.kingcounty.gov/salmon. their home streams. You might spot chum in the Green Chum (male) Chum (female) River and small streams that flow directly to . See salmon run Coho (silver) range in length from 17-38 inches and average 6-12 pounds. These popular sport fish can be found There are many places in King County to in urban settings if cold, clean water is available year-round. watch salmon as they make the journey home Coho (male) Coho (female) Coho stay in streams for a year before heading out to sea. to spawn: Cutthroat spawn from February through May and can • Chittenden Locks, (Ballard) reach 30 inches long. Although subspecies vary, these fish • Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, Issaquah Creek usually have greenish backs with yellow or silver sides • Cedar River Trail, Renton and Maple Valley showing many dark spots and a slash of red on the lower • Renton Library and Cedar River Park, Renton Cutthroat (male) Cutthroat (female) jaw, which inspired their name. • Sammamish River Trail, Redmond • Piper’s Creek, Carkeek Park, Seattle Kokanee, found locally only in Lake Sammamish, are • at Tolt-McDonald Park, Carnation the land-locked form of sockeye salmon. Because they don’t feed in the ocean, kokanee are smaller than sockeye, • Raging River in Fall City measuring 12-24 inches. Their numbers have been declining • Tolt River at Snoqualmie Valley Trail Bridge Kokanee (male) Kokanee (female) rapidly in recent decades. • Duwamish River, Tukwila’s North Wind’s Weir • Soos Creek Hatchery, Green River near Auburn Pink (“humpies”) are the smallest and most abundant Pacific salmon. Upon emerging from the gravel, the fry Fall is the best time to see returning salmon. migrate directly to sea. In , pinks return to the Find out more at www.kingcounty.gov/salmon. rivers MOSTLY in odd-numbered years; males develop a Pink (male) Pink (female) noticeable “hump” on their back during their spawning Click on “salmon viewing locations” or migration. “Salmon SEEson.” Visit The future of salmon is in www.kingcounty.gov/salmonwatcher for Sockeye (red) are King County’s most abundant and your hands visible salmon species with runs on the Cedar River and ways you can help salmon. Bear Creek. Sockeye usually spend a year in freshwater lakes Sockeye (male) Sockeye (female) before migrating to the sea. GIS, Visual Communications & Web Unit Archives (KCIT eGOV) File name: 1609_6925L_LivingWsalmonBROCH.indd Steelhead and Rainbow are the same species, but rainbow are freshwater fish only, while steelhead are anadromous. Unlike most salmon, steelhead may spawn more than once and at various times of year depending on Steelhead (male) Steelhead (female) the stream.

Salmon photos courtesy of the University of Washington Press and Scott Craig of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service FOLD

WILD SALMON LIFE CYCLE Salmon at risk You can help Once the supply Actions you take every day directly affect EGGS incubate in of salmon seemed the health of our streams, salmon and water streambed gravel. infinite, but no quality. Both people and salmon need clean, more. Several cool water and natural landscapes to thrive. native salmon RIVER populations are Use natural yard care practices ALEVINS hatch SPAWNING now near extinc- Reduce lawn size (less to mow!), plant from eggs, staying SALMON return tion. Among the native plants, and use compost to in the gravel. to the stream of reasons: damage build healthy soil. Learn more at their birth to lay to habitat from www.naturalyardcare.info their eggs. After logging, farming and development; impacts Once they emerge spawning, most from hatcheries and dams; and overfishing. Keep it clean from the gravel they salmon species are called FRY. die. Scoop pet waste! Fix oil leaks and wash We cannot restore salmon runs without healthy your car at a car wash or on the lawn Once fry begin the streams and rivers. Logs and fallen trees in (not in the street). www.fixcarleaks.org transition from RETURNING streams are important because they create pools freshwater to saltwater ESTUARY SALMON enter the and places for salmon to hide. Waterways must they become SMOLTS. estuary. They are no be cool and clean enough for the salmon to Protect streambanks, lakeshores Smolts may live in the longer able to eat, reach their spawning grounds. and beach bluffs estuary until they but move steadily Keep a buffer of native trees and adapt to saltwater. upstream using Salmon are a keystone species for the health shrubs along streams, fence livestock away their stored of our streams and watersheds. They provide from streams and lakes, and maintain or re- fat reserves. fishing and recreation jobs, and they are a store natural shorelines whenever possible. OCEAN favorite part of our diet. Salmon are a vital part of the Northwest Native American culture. Let the rain soak in Slow the flow by using gravel for From the estuary, PACIFIC The Endangered Species Act driveways and paths, planting SMOLTS spend SALMON live Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout trees and building a rain garden. additional time in the ocean for have been listed as “threatened” under the www.700milliongallons.org getting bigger in Puget two to seven years. Endangered Species Act (ESA). This requires Sound before moving local governments, businesses and citizens to Use water wisely into the ocean. work together to protect these fish and their Water your lawn deeply but not too habitat. often. Let it go dormant in the sum- Help us mer. Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation. Install make streams low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets and more salmon- fix leaks. www.savingwater.org The salmon journey friendly by Salmon are anadromous. This means they hatch in fresh water, planting trees Volunteer! along the spend most of their lives in salt water and then return to their banks. Help King County Parks restore native birth streams to reproduce and die. plants along streams and rivers. Do plantings between October and March and How do they do it? maintenance the rest of the year. Or dig up At sea, salmon navigate using the earth’s magnetic fields and plants at construction sites and pot them up length of day. Scientists have discovered that salmon use their at the nursery. Events are scheduled most sense of smell to find their native streams. A salmon’s sense of PHOTOS BY: LORRAINE DAY, GEOFF CLAYTON, Saturdays. Search “volunteer plantings King smell is thousands of times better than a dog’s! RAY HELLER, RAY LAPINE, LLOYD MOODY, AND BILL PRIEST. County” for details.