Scene at Meadowdale Beach Park Students helping salmon

Students from Meadowdale High School's Eco Club and community volunteers released thousands of baby coho salmon into Lunds Gulch Creek on Sunday. The event featured clear plastic cups for park visitors to assist with the release, allowing them to see the 5-month-old salmon. These juvenile fish will stay in the creek until spring 2026 before migrating to the sea, with the expectation that they will return as adults to spawn in 2027. This initiative is part of a project by the Edmonds Stream Team, in cooperation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, aimed at enhancing salmon populations impacted by urban development. Each year, coho salmon eggs from WDFW’s Issaquah Hatchery are nurtured at Sound Salmon Solutions’ Willow Creek Salmon Hatchery before being released into local streams.

In addition to the release, volunteers will conduct a survey in the fall to monitor the health of adult coho and chum salmon that spawn in the creek. This ongoing effort emphasizes community engagement and ecological restoration. Local efforts like these are crucial for sustaining salmon populations in urban waterways.