By Marianne Lincoln For many years, I have been working within the Chambers-Clover Watershed called WRIA 12. During this flooding event, life in WRIA 12 has been fairly normal. The creeks are slowing but not topping their banks or flooding neighborhoods. Just down the hill, it is a very different story. The warm rain event…
Category: watershed
Great Job Everyone!
Editorial Comment: Marianne Lincoln I know we are still in the middle of this rain event in Washington State, but I have to comment. Since the mid 1990’s, I have travelled around Pierce County and taken photos of flooding. Occasionally, I jump into my sister’s Cessna 172, and she does the flying while I take…
Watershed Group Holiday party
Wednesday, December 17 is the general meeting date for the Chambers Clover Watershed Council. Because this is December, the CCWC will hold its annual holiday party on that date. The Christmas Holiday Party will be held at the El Toro Cantina in Parkland from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The address for El Toro is 13719…
Restoring WRIA 12: A Unified Path Forward for Pierce County’s Watershed
Submitted By the Clover Creek Restoration Alliance Pierce County’s lakes, wetlands, and aquifers quietly hold our communities together. They supply our drinking water, support wildlife, buffer floods, and sustain the landscapes that define our region. Because these systems often operate out of sight, it is easy to overlook how essential they are until the signs…
Budget push with some holiday gifts
By Marianne Lincoln It is a quiet morning, but the past few weeks have been busy with things that needed to happen for me before the holiday rush. With Thanksgiving around the corner, we are about to have a barrage of holiday invitations, events, and all the trimmings will be put up around the community….
Nov 18 Public Comment Deadline
COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES Pierce County Surface Water Improvement Program (SWIP) Pierce County provides services in fulfillment of various regulatory drivers, including: Clean Water Act and NPDES Permit Compliance; Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compliance, Culvert Replacement Program, The Hirst Decision and Watershed Planning, Floodplain Management and NFIP Compliance. Pierce County geographic area covers the Puyallup and Nisqually…
Watershed Roundup Nov 18
Pierce County has four state designated watersheds. The Chambers Clover Watershed (WRIA12) includes Lakewood, University Place, most of Tacoma, Dupont, Spanaway, Parkland, Frederickson, Midland, Elk Plain, and the northwest part of Graham. This watershed is dependent on rain. For the past three years, the area has been under drought conditions. In October, it was at…
Is the Clover Creek system headed to extinction?
It is the end of October, 2025. The salmon are coming up Chambers Bay. Some have even been allowed over the dam to spawn naturally rather than be taken at the hatchery. Sadly, there is no water in Clover Creek. The fish cannot get any farther than Chambers Creek and Leech Creek. The fish ladder…
Do not disturb the redds
It is Fall. It is raining. In Washington, that means there are salmon coming up the creeks and rivers to spawn. The spawning female salmon make nests in which to lay eggs. They move their bodies and tails back and forth in the gravel to create a cone shaped hollow. They may create several in…
Oct 11 Watershed Festival at CPTC
Just a reminder about the habitat stewardship event on CPTC’s Flett Property this Saturday, October 11th from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. Immediately following the stewardship event, we will be hosting the inaugural Clover-Chambers Watershed Festival from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Both of these events are in partnership with Green Tacoma Day as one of the host sites! Thanks to those that have already…
Condition of Spanaway Lake
UPDATED: Corrections to current data.) These pictures are the condition of Spanaway Lake four weeks after the second EutroSORB G application this year to prevent Spanaway Lake’s annually recurring harmful cyanobacteria blooms, September 9, 2025. The Health Department closed the lake on August 20, 2024. https://tpchd.org/news/spanaway-lake-closed-because-of-toxic-algae/ In 2025, the lake has only been under an advisory. https://tpchd.org/environment/surface-water/advisories/…
New Book Published about the Nisqually Delta
A new book, Saving the Nisqually Delta, chronicles the decades-long citizen activism that saved the Nisqually Delta from industrialization. Located eight miles northeast of Olympia, Washington, the Nisqually Delta is one of the country’s last unspoiled estuaries. Author Janine Gates, an Olympia-based journalist and photographer, is best known for her community news blog, Little Hollywood,…
Pierce Prairie Post 