2024 surveys show record number of salmon in Shell Creek

— Story and photos by Joe Scordino
Project leader, Edmonds Stream Team
January 1, 2025

High school students collecting data on stream conditions and salmon occurrence.

The Edmonds Stream Team completed its annual adult salmon surveys in Edmonds’ Shell Creek and Lunds Gulch Creek (located in Meadowdale Beach Park) in December. The Stream Team documented the highest number of chum salmon spawners in November 2024 since surveys began in Shell Creek in 2017.

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Comments from a packed council chambers set tone for Tuesday meeting

By Teresa Wippel, My Edmonds News
November 11, 2024

Business owner Erika Barnett urges the council to ensure Edmonds’ Comprehensive Plan protects the character of the city’s downtown.

Passionate comments about city planning, providing police and fire services, and protecting the character of downtown Edmonds dominated public testimony at Tuesday night’s Edmonds City Council meeting, as advocates for a range of viewpoints packed the council chambers to have their say.

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Salmon eggs begin Edmonds journey

Story and photos by Chris Walton
Posted: December 6, 2024

Kaelie Spencer, Edmonds Fish Hatchery manager, receives 85,000 coho salmon eggs at the state hatchery in Issaquah.

On Thursday, a team of Sound Salmon Solutions volunteers processed this year’s batch of coho salmon eggs at the Edmonds Fish Hatchery located at the foot of Pine Street in Edmonds.

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Reader View: Let’s extend the deadline for finalizing the Edmonds Comprehensive Plan

By Joan Bloom
Posted: December 1, 2024

An open letter to the Edmonds City Council and Mayor:

I can’t imagine how stressful this holiday season has been for all of you, given the financial state of the city, biennial budget deliberations, the Regional Fire Authority issue, and the Edmonds Comprehensive Plan update.

Many of us are extremely concerned that council will finalize the draft Comp Plan by year end. Yet, xouncil has six months after the Comp Plan update deadline of 12-31-24 to finalize the Comp Plan before the State preempts local control and enforces housing mandates.

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Letter – Environmentally Sensitive Zoning and ‘Staggered’ approach to housing density zoning over 20-year Comp Plan

Letter sent to Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen, Edmonds City Council, and Edmonds Planning Director

From: Edmonds Environmental Council
November 25, 2025

Please see the linked OpEd piece in My Edmonds News yesterday and the comments to it.

Continue reading “Letter – Environmentally Sensitive Zoning and ‘Staggered’ approach to housing density zoning over 20-year Comp Plan”

Reader View: A better idea for Edmonds Comprehensive Plan update – ‘Environmentally Sensitive’ zoning

By Joe Scordino
Posted: November 23, 2024

Joe Scordino
Joe Scordino

Much of Edmonds shouldn’t be further developed because of inadequate or antiquated infrastructure, or the area is already overbuilt for the existing landscape or it has unique landscapes and critical areas requiring additional restrictions. But our state Legislature didn’t take this into account when it mandated every city to update their Comprehensive (Comp) Plan to allow for increased housing density.

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Letter to Shell Creek residents

By Joe Scordino
November 23, 2024

Shell Creek Residents:

As many of you have noticed in your creek, we are having a banner year in the numbers of adult chum salmon returning to Shell Creek.

I want to THANK YOU for allowing the Edmonds Stream Team to continually access your property in the fall to collect data on the salmon run.  We’ll be continuing our salmon surveys into mid-December when most of our observations will probably shift to just examining dead salmon to collect data on their spawning success (we’re currently still seeing ‘new’  arrivals as  well as dead spawned-out salmon).

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Letter to Edmonds Stream Team

From Joe Scordino
November 23, 2024

Students – Linked below is a news article on the Edmonds Stream Team “coming to the rescue” to resolve a fish passage problem for spawning salmon in Shell Creek.  

The stream habitat and salmon abundance data collected by students was used to justify an emergency permit from the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to make changes to a blockage DURING the salmon run.  Normally, such instream work would not be allowed during salmon migration – – but I had the data (collected by students) to justify the emergency action.

So… THANK YOU for participating in the Stream Team.  You have made a big difference for our local salmon population!

Joe bypassing Shell creek salmon barrier
Joe bypassing Shell creek salmon barrier
Continue reading “Letter to Edmonds Stream Team”

City publishes revised draft Comprehensive Plan; public hearing Dec. 10

My Edmonds News
November 22, 2024

City of Edmonds seal

The revised draft 2024 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Edmonds has been published and is available for review online here.

The revised plan updates the initial draft that was published Oct. 3. This new draft reflects public input during the comment period, as well as input from the Edmonds Planning Board and City Council. It also includes state agency guidance and other information.

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Scene in Edmonds: Finding passage for salmon

My Edmonds News
Posted: November 20, 2024

Joe Scordino on the scene. (Photo courtesy Karen Barnes)

It is salmon migration season and significant numbers of chum salmon are actively making their way up Shell Creek. As is always the case, they need to pass many obstacles along the way. This year they were presented with a new and unexpected challenge.

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Reader view: Edmonds’ growth plan should reflect realistic household data, not inflated targets

By Janelle Cass
Posted: November 12, 2024

The 2044 Comprehensive Plan update for Edmonds calls for 9,069 new housing units, based on an assumed future household size of just 1.4 people per new unit of housing, which would bring the citywide average household occupancy down to 2.11. This assumption risks causing the city to overshoot its true housing needs and invites the kind of overdevelopment that could significantly strain city resources and negatively impact the environment.

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It’s salmon ‘SEEson’ in Meadowdale Beach Park

Posted: November 10, 2024
By Joe Scordino

The Edmonds Stream Team, working with adult and student volunteers from Meadowdale and Edmonds-Woodway High Schools, has been surveying local creeks for salmon – – and the team reports many adult salmon are returning to Shell and Lunds Gulch Creeks.

Continue reading “It’s salmon ‘SEEson’ in Meadowdale Beach Park”