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,…

532 Chinook over the dam

This year, life is good for Chinook Salmon at Chambers Bay. The Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reported they released 532 Chinook salmon to finish their lives in Chambers Creek (see Escapement Report). The last time this happened was August 1999, 25 years ago! This is truly historic and wonderful for people and…

Watershed Festival looking for participants

Cities, Environmental organizations, water companies, anyone with a connection to water and environment is welcome to come to the first Chambers Clover Watershed Festival on Saturday, October 11. Of course, the public is also invited to see all the resources designed to use and protect our water supply. The festival will begin with a work…

Clover-Chambers Watershed Festival – celebrating our local water resources, Oct 11

On October 11, the Clover Creek Restoration Alliance (CCRA) and Clover Chamber Watershed Council (CCWC) are holding their first ever Watershed Festival. The Clover-Chambers Watershed Festival will be held on the grounds of Clover Park Technical College’s Natural Resources Laboratory and Research Park. That location is across Steilacoom Blvd. from the college, along Flett Creek….

The spring at Camp Montgomery

By Marianne Lincoln It is a hidden place on private property now, but when the Naches Trail hosted wagons from Eastern to Western Washington in the 1850’s, the spring near the Trail’s end was a valuable resource. Officially, the Naches Trail ended at the Mahon Farm. Most of that farm later became the Brookdale Golf…

Chambers Bay Estuary, fish ladder repair and more

Before Chambers Creek becomes Chambers Bay, the water flow is blocked by an outdated dam. Built to provide electricity for a nearby paper plant that closed years ago, the dam is widely considered to be harming the ecosystem of the area. Pierce County Surface Water Management, South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group and three local…

$$ to improve your personal stormwater runoff

Pierce Conservation District offers Green Stormwater Mini Grants annually to individuals, businesses, and community groups in the Commencement Bay, Chambers Creek, and Lower Puyallup River Watersheds. Get up to $4,000 for projects that reduce polluted stormwater runoff entering our local waterbodies. Eligible project types include rain gardens, large rain tanks, depaving, and removing lawn to…

Aug 9 Moonwalk on Sequalitchew Creek

City of DuPont Annual Moonwalk Join us for the Annual Moonwalk on Sequalitchew Creek Trail on August 9th at 7:30 p.m.! Enjoy a magical evening under the moonlight with a guided tour, kids craft, delicious dinner, and local history. Guests will be on site to share fascinating insights about astronomy, conservation and nature. The walk…