West Seattle, Washington
05 Friday
Right about the time Javier Fosado sent that photo of a ferry sailing through the fog, a different reader texted a question about the foghorn(s) they had been hearing all morning, wondering if foghorns are all from vessels, as they assumed the days of fixed, shoreside foghorns were all gone. We felt fairly certain that the Fauntleroy WSF terminal, for one, has a fixed foghorn; we’ve lived uphill from it for 30+ years. But we checked our assumption with WSF spokesperson Dana Warr, who replied:
There are fog signals at all South Sound terminals, to include Fauntleroy. It is also one of the closest to residential areas. The captains can request to have this navigation aid turned on/off to aid in the vessels’ safe navigation.
Seattle City Light has finally published the video and slide deck from last week’s online meeting about the long-planned, finally under way Brace Point underground-cable replacement project. We monitored it as it happened last Thursday; an hour was allotted, but attendees ran out of questions and the meeting ended after 35 minutes.
The project premise is fairly simple, though the work is not – SCL needs to replace underground cables that have been failing, plunging hundreds of households into multiple outages. The project was originally slated to start in 2020; SCL gave a variety of reasons in 2022 why it didn’t. Then this past spring the project went out to bid again, a contractor was chosen, and work is starting now.
Leading off the meeting, SCL communicator Grant Barton began with a project presentation, including the project team:
Barton then went into a glossary of sorts, defining “electrical vaults” and “electrical conduits.”
He explained that the SCL service area has 590 miles of underground cable, some of it – like the Brace Point cables – buried without conduit protection, mostly back in the ’70s, and that’s put it more at risk of damage and resulting outages, as has happened here. Communications consultant Natasha Wheeler picked it up from there, explaining what the project entails:
She said work will have some traffic effects, and there’ll be flaggers when needed. The work will include some planned outages, likely in spring 2027. That work will involve transferring power service “from the old cables to the new cables” once everything is in place. Here’s the construction timeline:
Q&A included daily construction hours and a specific question on behalf of a condo building in the construction zone which needed to ensure access would be possible for a specific activity (the reply was to be sure to directly talk with the project team to arrange logistics). Another question was about whether above-ground poles would be removed; team member Francis Sammy said no, there are no plans to bury lines that are currently above ground. And then there was a question about whether some curbing and sidewalks would be added; the project team said generally not – their focus would be on “restoring” what they’d have to dig up. But, at least one type of addition is likely in some places – if they’re working at an intersection, restoration would have to be ADA-compliant (regardless of whether the intersection had been so before), which means curb ramps, for example. Barton also said the question suggested they need to include more information on the project website about what “restoration” work will entail. They also were asked about a large redwood tree, and SCL said they have tree protections in the plan. Also, some streetlights will be replaced, they said in response to another question.
P.S. If you’re interested in comparing, here is our report from a similar meeting when the project was about to launch under a different contractor four years ago.
It’s a Fauntleroy Community Association tradition – the Pumpkin Search – and this year’s event is exactly one month away, scheduled for Saturday, October 4. But before the Pumpkin Search can happen, organizer Candace Blue launches a volunteer search, to line up people to help with hiding the pumpkins. This year the search returns to the Endolyne business district, and one more special addition – synergy with the Fauntleroy Fall Festival (October 19), with some of the hidden pumpkins marked so they can be brought to the festival two weeks later and receive a prize. If you plan to join in the search, set your calendar for 1-3 pm October 4; if you can volunteer to hide pumpkins, that starts at 11:30 am that day, and you can email Candace now – blueyvette47@gmail.com is her address.
Separate from upcoming projects to replace two culverts that carry Fauntleroy Creek under local roads, emergency repairs are needed for the California SW culvert in the Fauntleroy Church/Y/Schoolhouse area. Seattle Public Utilities has announced the start date:
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will be making emergency repairs to a storm drainage culvert under California Ave at the Fauntleroy Creek crossing. Severe cracks and breaks have damaged the culvert crossing and within the Fauntleroy Church parking lot and will impact and wash out the arterial should it fail. This emergency project is intended to provide asset life until the greater culvert replacement project is constructed.
LOCATION
California Ave SW (Fauntleroy Church parking lot)SCHEDULE & HOURS
Work will start as early as September 22 and will last through October 2025
Monday through Friday, 7 am to 5 pmANTICIPATED IMPACTS
-Equipment in the right of way on California Ave SW
-A new traffic pattern on California Ave SW, with flaggers directing traffic thru the work zone during working hours
-Parking restrictions near the work zone
-Pedestrian and bike lane detours
-Increased construction traffic, noise, dirt, and vibrations
-Pavement excavation and restoration
-Limited access to driveways during construction work hours
Here’s the construction notice featuring all of the above.
News today about another long-delayed city project: The Brace Point underground electrical upgrades are starting, almost six years after the originally projected start date for the project. Thanks to the area resident who shared a notice they’d received, with word that the work is under way on private property now and beginning in public right-of-way in early September. The notice also announced an online community meeting at noon tomorrow (Thursday, August 28) for information and Q&A. We last reported on the project when it went out to bid this past March but hadn’t received City Light notification that work was about to start. Its main component is replacement of underground cables that have failed repeatedly, causing multiple power outages in the neighborhood south of Fauntleroy. The information on the notices mailed to area residents, including how to register for tomorrow’s online meeting, is on the project page. (For backstory on the delays, see this 2022 WSB story.)
1:26 PM: A reader messaged us to report major delays on Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route. WSF has made two announcements of situations likely factoring into this. Biggest is that the route is down one boat, and as a result, one terminal:
#1 Kittitas Out of Service Due to Crewing – Southworth Travel Out of Service
The #1 Kittitas is out of service until further notice, due to crewing. A relief worker is required before we can move the vessel. Southworth travel is out of service until further notice.
Second, there’s paving work at the Vashon terminal parking lot, and that’s affecting the usage of holding lanes, with WSF warning Vashon travelers to “allow extra time for travel.”
P.S. Vessel Watch shows Kittitas is tied up at Southworth, which is a one-slip terminal, so that explains why it’s completely out of service. We’re checking with WSF to see if they have any kind of ETA for finding the needed worker.
1:44 PM: Though the WSF alerts webpage isn’t updated yet, Vessel Watch shows Kittitas has left Southworth and is now sailing again.
1:51 PM: The reader who first tipped us about all this says WSF workers reported Kittitas left Southworth with foot passengers only. Bottom line, if you need to use the Triangle Route ferry/ies, be aware the schedule is currently out the window.
2:03 PM: WSF’s official update: “The #1 Kittitas will return to service at approximately 2:25 p.m.”
Information from readers led us to inquire with the city’s Unified Care Team about two West Seattle encampments:
PUGET RIDGE: The reader photo above shows 21st SW just north of SW Myrtle [map], along the west side of the Sanislo Elementary campus (not in view because of a tangle of overgrowth). The reader who sent it expressed concern that the encampment is “growing” and seemingly unaddressed though school starts in less than two weeks. We asked UCT spokesperson Kate Jacobs if the site is on the city’s radar. Her reply: “Parking enforcement officers have visited the site and are scheduled to return this week to take appropriate next steps. Specific actions will depend on circumstances at that time. While parking ordinances apply equally to all vehicles, state and federal laws provide additional protection for people living in them.” We just went by the site before publishing this story, and two Parking Enforcement vehicles are in fact there now.
FAUNTLEROY PARK: Fires in the park have been among longrunning issues of concern to neighboring residents (from the park’s south/Arbor Heights side), who told us that notices were up for city action this past Monday. We asked Jacobs about that too, and she said, “The Unified Care Team completed a resolution at Fauntleroy Park on August 18. Outreach workers are connecting the two individuals who were residing at the site with case managers to support their transition to permanent housing.”
The next Fauntleroy Church Recycle Roundup is exactly one month away – Saturday, September 20, 9 am to 3 pm in the lot at 9140 California SW. It’s a chance to drive up, ride up, walk up with no-longer-needed items and drop them off, free. That is, provided they’re on the “will accept” list for the church’s longtime partner in this twice-yearly event, 1 Green Planet. The list can vary so check out the one provided specifically for this date:
Here’s a PDF version of that same list.
Just wrapping up on SW Henderson west of 35th SW, The Birdhouse‘s dinner pop-up benefiting the Fauntleroy Fall Festival was a hit. When we stopped by for photos around 5:30, the line for the order/pick up window stretched around the corner. Tables – loaned by DSquared, whose Reed Haggerty is a festival organizer – were full of people dining from the barbecue-centered menu and chatting with neighbors.
The Fauntleroy Community Association doesn’t present the festival but supports it and was part of an info-table there too:
The donation box is a reminder that the festival runs on donations and volunteer power – it’s exactly two months away, on Sunday, October 19, 2-5 pm in and around Fauntleroy Church, YMCA, and Schoolhouse.
This Tuesday evening (August 19), you’re invited to a block-party barbecue dinner on SW Henderson west of 35th SW to benefit the Fauntleroy Fall Festival! The free festival runs on donations and volunteers, and The Birdhouse is cooking up this dinner pop-up with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the festival. Just plan to drop by for dinner 5-7 pm that night – The Birdhouse isn’t usually open for dinner but has a special menu for the occasion; see it here – it includes vegetarian options as well as sides and desserts. Take-out if you prefer, but SW Henderson will be closed in front of The Birdhouse, with tables and chairs so you can dine on-site with your West Seattle neighbors.
P.S. This year’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival is set for 2-5 pm Sunday, October 19 – exactly two months after Tuesday’s fundraising dinner.
Sorry to interrupt summer with this reminder, but the start of school for Seattle Public Schools (among other local schools) is now one month away (and some start even sooner). Here’s one way to get ready – plan to participate in a “swap shop” that’s planned for two weeks from today. Lindsay Pearsall sent the invitation for the August 17th event at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW)
This summer, we’re doing a Back-to-School Swap Shop— where people can bring gently used items and take home anything they find useful. Whether it’s outgrown clothes, unused school supplies, books, toys, or backpacks—if it’s in good condition, bring it to share!
No money needed. No expectations. Just a fun and thoughtful way to support each other, reduce waste, and give new life to things your family no longer needs. It’s totally free and open to everyone in the community.
We hosted a similar Swap Shop event right before the holidays last year and had a great turnout. It was such a positive and practical way for neighbors to connect and support each other.
RSVP via this Eventbrite link!
The swapping/shopping will be 10 am-noon, but you’re invited to come at 9 am to drop off and set up your “swap” items, and to stay after noon to help clean up if you can; at 1 pm, unclaimed leftovers get donated via the Big Blue Truck.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If you live/work in Fauntleroy, why should you pay for Fauntleroy Community Association membership? That’s one of the questions for which the FCA board is working to refine answers, to make the case to more residents and businesspeople, as discussed during last night’s monthly board meeting in the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse conference room. But first:
POLICE UPDATE: Officer German Barreto, attending remotely, brought crime stats – Fauntleroy has had one robbery so far this year compared to zero by this time last year, and “everything else has gone down,” including burglaries and auto thefts (21 to this point last year, 7 this year), he said. Precinct-wide, the trends are similar. Confirmed “shots fired” incidents: Fauntleroy has had two compared to one by this point last year, In the entire Southwest Precinct (West Seattle and South Park), last year has had 57 to this point, compared to 53 this year. Asked why most categories had dropped, Barreto said he’d speculate the “directed patrols” proactively targeting hot spots (Alki, Westwood for example) were at least partly to thank.
ENCAMPMENTS: Attendees brought up people camping in Fauntleroy Park. Barreto said they’d been dealing with RVs in South Park so he wasn’t up to date on tent camps in West Seattle at the moment, but advised reporting via Find It Fix It, suggesting that “flooding it” with reports might help get attention on a particular site.
REZONING: Changes proposed for some parts of Fauntleroy were taken out of the city’s latest plan, and FCA president Frank Immel said that appears to be “a win for our community.” FCA board member Bill Wellington noted, though, that some of the changes seemed to have been made without coherent consideration. Impacts to the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse and its site were discussed, particularly a parcel immediately west of the nursery site that itself is west of the schoolhouse parking lot. They debated whether to talk with Seattle Public Schools – which still owns that part of the site – about the land and its future. They ultimately voted to support the map as currently proposed for Fauntleroy and will let City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s office know.
MEMBERSHIP: The organization wants to increase its paid membership. So, how? A higher profile at FCA-presented events was one suggestion made by Immel. Board member Kris Ilgenfritz suggested that they need to be clearer about what it is they do and why they as board members are involved. “It’s because we all care about the community,” vice president Catherine Bailey suggested. Board member Amber Heinemann, point person with the busnesscommunity, suggested posting membership info at businesses in the area (including hers, The Birdhouse coffee shop/café), and thought adding a QR code to the FCA’s quarterly newsletter would help too. She also suggested a bigger community board that the FCA could sponsor at her business. Much debate ensued over how to communicate the value of membership, and why people should join. How about joining forces with other neighborhoods for a booth at future West Seattle Summer Fests, or Farmers’ Markets, to help people connect? Board member Susan Lantz-Dey noted a past tagline, “Membership matters.” Treasurer Alan Grainger noted, “There’s going to be a lot happening in this neighborhood in the (years ahead)” and membership could be explained as a way to stay informed on it all, and have a voice. They decided to create a committee to take on the topic – maybe a marketing committee that would look at, and ostensibly improve, the ways the FCA communicates with community members.
GLASS FLOAT HUNT: The West Seattle-wide event is happening again this summer; FCA will participate again by buying floats and hiding them.
FAUNTLEROY FALL FESTIVAL FUNDRAISING: FCA doesn’t present the festival but supports it in a big way, so it’s a frequent topic at meetings. This year’s date is October 19. Donations cover the costs; the recent Super Deli Mart mini-block party brought in $600, and a new event – a golf tournament – will add more than $1,000, festival organizer Reed Haggerty reported …. Next month, The Birdhouse will offer a summer barbecue pop-up dinner, 5-7 pm August 19th – ribs, pulled pork, that sort of thing. Heinemann said they’re exploring closing the street for the event. They’ll probably have another fundraiser in September.
FERRY UPDATE: Immel, long the Fauntleroy rep on ferry-related committees, noted that the last Community Advisory Group meeting is set for four. weeks from now, and it’s expected that’s when WSF will unveil the final configuration of the replacement terminal. He noted, however, that while this moves the process into a new phase, there’s the issue of cost – the budgeted $95 million is not anywhere close to what the final price tag is likely to be. (The CAG meeting, online on August 6, will be open to the public as usual; you can go here to register for the viewing link.)
WHAT’S NEXT: No FCA meeting in August, so the next one will be at 6 pm Tuesday, September 9. Watch fauntleroy.net for updates in the meantime.
(2024 WSF concept for Fauntleroy Way signalized intersection)
Heads up for more road work to get ready for this fall’s project to add a signal where Fauntleroy Way SW intersects with the ferry dock, in advance of the dock replacement/expansion later this decade. Two weeks ago, crews did drilling at the site; next week, they’ll do “potholing,” explained as “using specialized equipment to create small holes in the ground to verify the location, depth and condition of underground utilities.” The work is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, July 8 and 9, 9 am-7 pm. Here’s the official notice. Questions? There’s a construction hotline, 206-402-8070. The announcement was circulated along with news of a date for the terminal project’s final Community Advisory Group meeting, now set for 6 pm August 6, online. The public will be welcome to attend; watch this page for a registration link later this summer.
(‘Live’ camera image from Fauntleroy dock)
M/V Issaquah is already moored on Vashon Island, ready to take its position as the #3 boat on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry run Monday morning, as Washington State Ferries officially restores three-boat service to the “Triangle Route.” It’s been a two-boat route for almost four years, and wasn’t expected to get a third boat now, until Gov. Bob Ferguson ordered WSF to pause its hybrid-electric conversion process, keeping a boat in service that otherwise would have dropped out. WSF announced in mid-April that June 30th would be the Triangle Route restoration date. But it also cautions, “There may be times when the route will shift back to two-boat service. Thanks to feedback from a community working group, Washington State Ferries has a new, updated two-boat schedule (use the drop-down menu at the top to view the other two segments of the route). This backup schedule will be used when the route loses a vessel. More information on these unplanned service disruptions can be found in WSF’s Service Contingency Plan.” There’ll be reduced capacity for a while later this summer, too, as we reported Thursday; WSF spokesperson Justin Fujioka told WSB that “Sealth is scheduled to replace Cathlamet for about a month starting in mid-August so Cathlamet can go in for some scheduled maintenance.” (Sealth is a 90-car boat, compared to the 124-car capacity Cathlamet.) The three-boat schedule, meantime, starts in the 4 am hour Monday morning.
This weekend marks the end of an era at Fauntleroy Church – Bronwyn Edwards is ending nearly two decades as the church’s music director. Her successor starts next week, as Judy Pickens tells us:
After a nationwide search, Fauntleroy Church, United Church of Christ, has found its new music director close to home. On July 1, Zachary Fitzgerald, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington, will take the baton from retiring director Bronwyn Edwards.
Zachary earned master’s degrees in choral conducting and vocal performance from Kent State University and is nearing completion of his doctoral degree in vocal performance. His career has included church music director, vocalist, teacher, and instrumentalist (oboe, English horn, and saxophone). Along the way, he deepened his passion for opera and musical theater.
In addition to coordinating music for Sunday services, Zachary will devote the summer to getting better acquainted with the 439-member congregation’s existing choirs and ensembles and plan new performance opportunities, including for children, to start introducing in the fall.
Edwards, meantime, also is retiring from her role with the Boeing Employees Choir, but plans to continue composing and teaching.
It’s not quite lemonade-stand weather. So this enterprising trio has set up a Pokémon-card stand instead! One participant’s parent sent us the photo, noting you can find them until 3 or so by the 38th SW/SW Barton standpipe in Upper Fauntleroy.
(‘Live’ camera image from Fauntleroy dock)
In four days, Washington State Ferries plans to restore the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route to a full three-boat schedule, after years of reduced service. We asked WSF spokesperson Justin Fujioka exactly how the transition will be made. First, the boats – all three will be Issaquah class for starters, optimal for the schedule: “Issaquah is scheduled to replace Salish this weekend so Salish can go up to Port Townsend and prepare to enter service as that route’s second boat on July 4. We are planning to have that boat, plus Kittitas and Cathlamet, for most of our summer sailing season. The one exception is, Sealth is scheduled to replace Cathlamet for about a month starting in mid-August so Cathlamet can go in for some scheduled maintenance.” M/V Issaquah’s capacity – 124 cars – is almost double that of M/V Salish (which has been the “bonus boat” on the run for a while now), 64 cars. We also asked when the schedule change would take effect: “The new three-boat schedule will begin with the start of the sailing day on Monday, June 30. We will operate the entire sailing day Sunday, June 29, on the current two-boat weekend schedule, even departures after midnight.” Fujioka says that while they had some hoopla for the recent Bremerton service restoration, including a media event featuring the governor, that will NOT be happening for this restoration – WSF will just send out a reminder on Friday, including “details about the new updated backup two-boat schedule.” Comments about that schedule were requested back in April, as we reported with first word of the three-boat-service-restoration date.
Rain stopped, sun’s peeking through. The Super Deli Mart parking lot at 35th/Barton has games, kids’ activities – giant-bubble-making!
And benefit beverages (beer, lemonade) …
All to help the Fauntleroy Fall Festival stay free! This continues until 6 pm.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If you live, work, shop, study, or travel through Fauntleroy, you should be paying attention to the upcoming project to replace and expand the Fauntleroy Creek culvert beneath 45th SW.
So far, the Fauntleroy Community Association fears, not enough people are, despite the inevitability that, as FCA president Frank Immel observed last night, “it’s going to be a real mess in the community.”
Above is our recording of last night’s hour-long meeting with the latest information about the project, presented by Seattle Public Utilities, hosted by the FCA as the first half of its regular monthly board meeting. Anticipating stronger community interest, FCA moved the meeting to a big room at The Hall at Fauntleroy and set out dozens of chairs – but only a handful were filled.
Here’s the slide deck used for the briefing (plus a few pages at the end regarding the California culvert, on which work will start no sooner than 2028, after 45th is complete). Briefing toplines:
(2024 WSF concept for Fauntleroy Way signalized intersection)
Though construction of the Fauntleroy ferry-dock replacement/expansion is still a few years away, one related project is more like months away – the stoplight planned for Fauntleroy Way where it intersects with the dock entrance/exit. To get ready for it, drilling is planned on Monday (June 16), and Washington State Ferries is circulating this alert today:
Washington State Ferries (WSF) will conduct geotechnical drilling to understand site conditions for a new traffic signal at the intersection of Fauntleroy Way SW and the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. The traffic signal will make it easier and safer for people driving, walking, biking and rolling to get to and from the bus stops, terminal and other destinations along Fauntleroy Way Southwest and beyond.
When will the work occur?
• Monday, June 16 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.What can I expect?
• Construction noise, dust, vibrations and traffic.
• Travel and bike lane restrictions at the intersection of Fauntleroy Way SW and the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. While crews are working, flaggers and a uniformed police officer will direct traffic through the intersection and to/from the ferry terminal. Please expect delays when traveling through the area.
• Large construction vehicles and machinery.
• Crews will use construction best practices to limit noise levels when possible.Questions or concerns?
• Email: wsfcomms@wsdot.wa.gov
• Call our construction hotline: 206-402-8070 (staffed 24/7 during construction)
The next full update on the project is expected during what will be the final meeting of its WSF-convened Community Advisory Group, online at 6 pm July 9 (registration link isn’t available yet but watch here when it gets closer).
Speaking of protests … Jason sent photos and info about this street-side advocacy action that local kids in Fauntleroy did this afternoon:
Cool to see: a child-driven protest against to-fast drivers on 45th between Concord and Henderson. It’s been a problem here since the bridge closure made people use this route as a shortcut.
According to one of the kids (Lola, holding the sign):
“We hope to get drivers to drive slower and pay more attention to kids who cross back and forth. In the past we’ve seen teenagers driving way over the speed limit and not letting us cross first. We started yesterday at a block party while we were pretending to be police officers and saw cars driving too fast. We pulled the ‘20 is plenty’ signs from the ground and waved them in the air. It seemed to work — people were slowing down, waving, smiling and happily honking. So we thought we do it again today.
“When we yelled ‘20 is plenty’ some people rolled down their windows and yelled ten is plenty! We made paper signs saying ‘20 is plenty’ and had a petition sheet for people to sign if they agreed with us.
“I feel like some of the cars might have listened and acknowledged that there were kids who need to cross the street while others ignored us and kept driving like 30 mph over the speed bump. We hope that we can keep doing this until everyone slows down. Today we set up on the side of the road on a speed bump hoping that cars would see us and slow down. We also have some requests that the speed bumps could be a little bigger, and we need a painted crosswalk and another roundabout.”
The Fauntleroy Community Association has long agitated for more SDOT attention there and elsewhere. That section of 45th has a big project in the works to the north – the culvert replacement, which FCA and Seattle Public Utilities will update at 6 pm Tuesday at The Hall @ Fauntleroy (9131 California SW).
The ferry dock replacement/expansion isn’t the only major infrastructure project ahead for the Fauntleroy neighborhood. Seattle Public Utilities continues to plan two major replacement/expansion projects for Fauntleroy Creek‘s underground culvert sections, one beneath 45th SW north of the Endolyne business district, one beneath California SW in the Fauntleroy Church vicinity. Just announced: The Fauntleroy Community Association is hosting a meeting next Tuesday (June 10) to get updates from SPU and facilitate Q&A about the projects’ status. FCA’s announcement says they’re expecting about 25 minutes of presentation, 25 minutes of Q&A, and also “an update from the team working on the emergency repair efforts on the California culvert.” This coincides with the FCA’s regular 6 pm second-Tuesday board meeting, but will be in a larger venue to accommodate more attendees, the Emerald Room at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), all welcome.
Story by Judy Pickens
Photos by Tom Trulin
Special to West Seattle Blog
On Sunday afternoon (6/1), 118 community residents capped another salmon-release season on Fauntleroy Creek by putting the last coho fry in the water.
Among them, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a West Seattle resident (seen below with volunteer Dennis Hinton, after releasing a fry she named “Justice“):
Between April 28 and May 31, volunteers with the Fauntleroy Watershed Council hosted 778 students and 301 adults for 22 school releases. Those, plus the community release, introduced 2,281 coho fry to the freshwater habitat that will be their home until next spring.
Fifteen West Seattle schools received eyed eggs in January through the Salmon in the Schools Program. The students who cared for them until release day ranged from preschool through post high school.
Fry released during the community event were the last of the “back-up” fry reared by volunteer Jack Lawless to ensure that, even if a school lost a lot of its fish, every student would have one to put in the water. His fry also enabled children from five area preschools to have a release experience in Fauntleroy Park.
A record number of volunteers (23) staffed all the releases and hosted many of the students for lunch and Q&A on the lower creek.
Fry released at the big bridge in the park will linger there for a few weeks, so veteran volunteer Dennis Hinton encouraged park visitors to look for them.
“Between release fish and home hatch from spawning, the entire creek has salmon in it year round,” he said. “Visitors can help protect them by keeping their dogs out of the water and leaving fell limbs in the channel as they create essential habitat for these juveniles.”
Next up for the general public: the annual drumming in October to call in spawners and, if it’s successful, a weekend “open creek” in November. Last year, a record 347 spawning coho came in.
| 5 COMMENTS