It turns out, logjams actually help salmon, partly by slowing the speed of the river and by creating cool pools and channels that are good places for adult and juvenile fish to hide, feed and spawn.
[6] A Migratory Path Puget Sound's near-shore region is composed of shallow saltwater, nearby wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and bluffs.
When these salmon return as adults they must go through the same process again in estuaries to help make the transition from saltwater to freshwater before heading back to their respective rivers to spawn.
[9] The salmon begin their journey as fertilized eggs in a stream that eventually hatch and move downstream in freshwater (lasting anywhere from months to three years depending on species).
At this point, they are ready to transition through the coastal shores into the North Pacific Ocean where they stay anywhere from six months up to five years and travel as far as the Gulf of Alaska.
Depending on the species, the salmon are ready to return to their home stream, river, or lake after one to seven years of being in the ocean to begin the process of spawning.
These estuaries contain the necessary amount of both fresh and salt water so the salmon can steadily adapt without causing harm to their body chemistry, in the process called "smoltification".
Studies[clarification needed] show a 73 percent decline in salt marsh habitats bordering Puget Sound.
[citation needed] Bulkheads can disrupt shore drift and shoreline vegetation, thus eliminating cover and food sources for young salmon.
The decrease in riparian vegetation along the shoreline can also account for an increase in stream temperature, which can benefit invasive species of bacteria and parasites that are harmful to the salmon.
Docks and piers can block light to underwater habitats such as eelgrass meadows, and sources of food and shelter for juvenile salmon and other marine life.
[20] Salmon are a national treasure and local Pacific Northwest Icon, yet human development is destroying their habitats while their wild populations decline.
“If history has a lesson here, it is that technological fixes and politically motivated half measures will at best delay the inevitable.” [22] Puget Sound used to home a much more diverse and robust population of Chinook Salmon.
[24] In 1999, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed the Chinook salmon, summer chum and bull trout in the Puget Sound.
In 2005, Shared Strategies presented a regional plan for the recovery of ESA listed Chinook salmon in the Puget Sound.
The partnership is working with various communities, tribes, businesses, and state and federal agencies to implement programs that will hopefully help recover salmon.
[28] Paving large expanses of land increases runoff of pollutants into streams and rivers that eventually wash into Puget Sound.
Impervious surfaces are man-made structures such as roads, house foundations and roofs that prevent water from being absorbed and filtered through the soil.
Sudden increases in stream flow that occur during high rainfall can be greatly exacerbated by urbanization that replaces natural vegetation with pavement or rooftops.
[30] The Department of Ecology found that surface runoff is the largest source of toxic chemicals being deposited into Puget Sound.
These low-impact development methods are environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of storm water runoff that reaches Puget Sound.
These building methods not only help Puget Sound salmon, but also benefit humans through increasing property values, and enhancing aesthetic appeal.
Planting rain gardens would result in less erosion, lower and stable water temperatures, and less pollutants entering freshwater systems.
As stated above the one way to fix this problem is to use LID methods to help with the filtration process which at the same time reduces the quantity of water being put into the streams and rivers.
Of all these species, salmon and killer whales are the most iconic and culturally relevant to the Native American tribes within the Pacific Northwest region.
Historically, Puget Sound was one of the most salmon-filled regions evident from the bountiful salmon-bearing streams that essentially had an unlimited supply of salmon.
As a reward, the salmon gave their uncle a war club, an elk hide, and moist fertile soil along the edge of the river to thrive in for the rest of his years.
[citation needed] Salmon play a critical role in the survival of the local economy and culture for the indigenous people that make up the Pacific Northwest.
The addition of a new market-driven industrial economy has also provided new vulnerabilities for the Pacific Northwest's salmon runs, causing environmentalists[who?]
The connection between salmon and the Native American tribes within the Pacific Northwest portray a deep relationship forged through many generations.