I debated whether I should even use this picture. It’s pretty unclear what I’m trying to show you- but that’s kind of the point! This is Coho Creek, on the north end of Bainbridge Island, and I took this picture standing on Hidden Cove Road in mid-July when all the lovely vegetation was in full leaf; and that in itself is an important point. Shade cover on streams is very important, particularly during the warm summer months. Vegetation shading the streams is what keeps things cool for the fish and insects that live in these stream systems, and cool temperatures are vitally important to the health of the stream and its residents. So yes, look very closely and you’ll see a bit of a stream running down there, but mostly, you will see all the leafy veg that helps protect it through the warm summer months.
Coho Creek is a small, perennial (year-round) stream that originates east of Phelps Road, and winds its way through private properties in a fairly steep ravine before heading underneath Hidden Cove Road and entering the south side of Hidden Cove. The creek presumably got its name due to its hosting coho salmon, and Jerry Elfendahl’s Streams of Bainbridge Island recalls this stream as a popular place to fish for salmon and trout in the early 20th century. There is little doubt given this is a perennial (year-round) stream that, like many perennial streams in Puget Sound, it probably hosts coho. Wild Fish Conservancy’s stream typing in 2014 identified salmonids in the stream, including likely juvenile rainbow trout (see picture). The stream is unusual in having few identified barriers that prevent fish passage, and is mapped as potential fish habitat across nearly its entire extent.
Wild Fish Conservancy collected these juvenile fish by dipnet during stream typing in 2014.
For small streams like this that are mostly held in private property, their continued health depends greatly on the willingness of local landowners to steward their properties to protect the stream, including keeping riparian vegetation intact and making sure herbicides and household chemicals aren’t reaching the stream. Septic system maintenance is also very important for all stream-adjacent properties to make sure that these systems don’t leach nitrogen or other chemicals. By taking simple steps to support our streams, we can help ensure these waterways remain good habitat for all the wildlife that need them.