Volunteer in Miller and Walker Creeks

Forest restoration volunteers

• remove plants that harm forests, like English Ivy and Himalayan Blackberry, 
• plant native trees, shrubs, and groundcover, and 
• clean up litter.
  

 

CSI volunteers

• walk and wade through the lower mile of Miller Creek and Walker Creek during salmon return season (October through December)

• count live coho and chum salmon returning to Miller and Walker Creeks

• measure and dissect dead salmon to monitor pre-spawn mortality 

Sign-ups for the 2025 salmon survey season are open!
Submit your information at this link. 

CSI is a fun and rewarding program that collects important information on the health of the watershed. CSI volunteer teams walk sections of Miller and Walker Creeks from early October until late December every year. Each volunteer team (usually 2-3 people) is assigned a day of the week, and is responsible for surveying that day every week or every other week through the salmon spawning season. We are looking for weekly/bi-weekly team volunteers as well as on-call volunteers to provide back-up support in the event a team member is unavailable. 

Surveys take 3-4 hours, and need to be done during daylight hours. Surveys must be complete before 4pm! Surveys occur rain or shine but will be cancelled for high flows or high winds. Survey routes can be rocky, wet, and slippery. Volunteers provide their own rain gear and waders. We also encourage volunteers to bring polarized glasses and a walking stick. All other equipment is provided.

We strongly encourage volunteers to attend the 2025 training workshop, Thursday, September 25, 6pm-8pm, at Normandy Park City Hall (801 SW 174th St, Normandy Park, WA 98166). We will walk you through survey and safety protocols and practice identifying salmon species and measuring and dissecting salmon carcasses.

CSI has been ongoing since 2010. To see past results, and to learn more, go to the Miller and Walker Creeks page and select "Salmon".

If you are not able to volunteer this year but you would like to receive weekly emails with salmon updates from October through December, please visit the sign-up form and check the "I want to receive weekly email updates" option. 

Much of the Miller and Walker Basin was developed before stormwater regulations. Development reduced forest cover and filled in wetlands. Urban development increased the amount of impervious surface in the watershed. Impervious surfaces are non-porous materials like concrete and asphalt.

When rain falls, it flows over the impervious surface instead of soaking into the ground. The water picks up pollutants, like oils or car tire particles, and runs off into storm drains or the surrounding landscape and creeks. This has led to negative stormwater impacts throughout the Basin. Flood flows have increased, resulting in erosion, flooding, and sediment deposition. Pollution from businesses, lawn care practices, and roadway runoff have degraded the creeks. Removal of streamside trees and shrubs have increased water temperatures.

Restoring forests and reducing pollution support healthy streams, salmon, and people. 

You can read more about Basin conditions, surface water problems, and ways to protect the creeks in the Miller and Walker Creeks Basin Plan.

Over 141 million acres of America’s forests are in cities and towns. Urban forests come in many different shapes and sizes. They include urban parks, street trees, landscaped boulevards, gardens, river and coastal promenades, greenways, river corridors, wetlands, and nature preserves.

Healthy forests are complex ecosystems with diverse plant and animal species. Shrubs and logs on the forest floor are home to wildlife and young and old trees provide cover and food. A healthy forest is resilient and resistant to insects, disease, and wildfire. Forests create microclimates that provide protection from warmer temperatures. They help mitigate the impacts of climate change by absorbing and storing carbon.

Urban forests

• absorb and filter rainwater (which helps streams, salmon, and orcas!) 
• provide clean oxygen and filter pollutants from the air
• create living space for wildlife
• are a place where people can connect with the outdoors
• provide mental health benefits
• build resilience for a changing climate

Salmon reflect the health of our lands and water. 

We count numbers of adult coho and chum salmon to determine how many fish return to the creeks each year. We can use these data to look at population trends over many years. This helps us understand how ocean conditions and freshwater habitat conditions affect salmon. 

We measure and dissect dead salmon to learn how many salmon die before they have a chance to spawn. Coho salmon pre-spawn mortality has been linked to polluted road runoff. Through the CSI program and partnerships with scientists at University of Washington, Washington State University, and the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center, Miller Creek has become an important watershed for research on water quality and coho mortality.

The data we collect through the CSI program informs restoration priorities. It helps us track progress: are Miller and Walker restoration efforts helping salmon?

Read more about CSI results and other monitoring data from Miller and Walker Creeks. 

In addition to the Miller-Walker Basin Stewardship Program, many local organizations offer volunteer opportunities.

Forest restoration:

Green Burien Partnership

Green SeaTac Partnership

Normandy Park Family Foresters

Normandy Park Community Foresters

Normandy Park Stewards of the Cove

King County Parks

Salmon surveys: 

Carkeek Park chum surveys

Longfellow Creek coho surveys