The Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail, located between Olympia and Shelton (here is a map), will be open for visitors on weekends beginning Saturday October 31, through Sunday November 29. This is an excellent opportunity for local South Sound residents to see thousands of chum salmon spawning in a natural environment.

This is the ninth year of the Trail, and we have shown a tremendous amount of growth during the past several years. The Trail is a community asset and each year over 5,000 people visit the Trail to learn more about salmon. This year the Trail will be also highlighted in the 2009 November issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. Come check out what all of the hype is about.

The half-mile trail is hosted by the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group (SPSSEG) and Mason Conservation District (MCD) and is partially ADA accessible. Volunteer trail guides will be on-site during the weekends to answer any questions. For more general information, call (360) 412-0808 x 2 or go to spsseg.org.

The Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail is directly supported by SPSSEG and MCD (plus many other partners). Taylor Shellfish owns the Trail property and has committed to a 20-year lease with SPSSEG.

Open to the Public:
Saturdays and Sundays, October 31 to November 29
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Holidays Open: Wednesday, November 11 and Friday, November 27
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Directions
The Salmon Trail is located off Highway 101 halfway between Olympia and Shelton. Southbound from Shelton, turn west on Old Olympic Highway at milepost 356. Northbound from Olympia, turn west on Old Olympic Highway between milepost 358 and 357. Go ¾ mile to a gravel logging road signed “Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail.” Follow the gravel road ½ mile to the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail parking lot.

Group Tours
Weekday visits for schools and other organized groups are available by reservation only. For more information or reservations, contact Stephanie at the Mason Conservation District (360) 427-9436 x 13 or stephanie@masoncd.org

Logs and other woody debris delivered during winter storms to the reservoir behind Alder Dam are a safety hazard for boaters and a headache for Tacoma Power maintenance crews in this popular recreation area near Mount Rainier.

But that same assortment of wood is a blessing for salmon habitat restoration projects in the tributaries of the Nisqually River, including Ohop Creek near Eatonville.

So the Tacoma utility and partners in a major Ohop Creek restoration project teamed up last week to move about 100 logs from Alder Lake several miles down the river valley to ground zero of the Ohop Creek project.

They put their trust in the team of Eatonville contractor Max Swick and log truck driver John Zizer, who carefully negotiated a loaded truck across the narrow causeway atop the 1,500-foot-long dam, flanked by the lake on one side and the Nisqually River 330 feet below the dam on the other side.