Clarks Creek near the city of Puyallup was the site of a recent study conducted by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. The two-year study examined sediment sources throughout the creek, and investigators found that if 23 major sources of sediment were repaired, more than 50 percent of the creek’s sediment problem would disappear.
Clarks Creek supports the highest salmon spawning densities in the Puyallup watershed, as well as the most significant number and variety of spawning salmon within city limits in the watershed. The Puyallup Tribe will start work on a project that will repair the highest priority sediment source in the summer of 2017.
The problems facing Clarks Creek are endemic to most Puget Sound lowland streams. The principal causes of degradation to the creek are excessive sediment, nuisance weed growth, pollution from nutrients, and excessive bacteria. The Puyallup Tribe’s project to repair sediment sources will be an example of how hundreds of small urban streams can be restored in Puget Sound.
Funding Source:
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Congressional District: 10
Partners:
- City of Puyallup
- Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
Photo credits: Emmett O’Connell, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission