Join Puget Sound Estuarium at the Olympia Timberland Library for our Discovery Speaker Series. Every 1st Thursday of the month we invite you to learn and stay informed about current environmental research or sustainability projects. You'll hear from Scientists, Educators, Artists, and Earth Advocates about their current work, research, or organization. Plus get your questions answered live after the talk!
About the presentation:
Scatter Creek – Where did the water go?
Scatter Creek flows from foothills east of Tenino into the Chehalis River near Grand Mound. The creek is a source of joy to community residents, and home to Coho salmon, beaver, and native freshwater mussels. But the creek has been drying out over the past 100 years with drying trends increasing in the past decade. The Chehalis Basin Partnership, a collaborative of people working to improve management of water resources in the Chehalis Basin, took on a project to develop a local restoration strategy for this stream. Community members and scientists explored the questions of “where did the water go?” and “what can we do about it?”
This presentation will provide a short overview of restoration efforts across the Chehalis Basin, share insights about Scatter Creek, and share opportunities to get involved in future restoration planning efforts in the Black River basin.
About the speaker:
Kirsten Harma has coordinated salmon habitat restoration and watershed management efforts in the state’s second largest watershed, the Chehalis Basin, for the past 10 years. In this role she works with local restoration groups, interested citizens, and state agencies to develop plans and programs for restoration and protection, as well as providing community education. Prior to her work in the Chehalis, she has worked to help communities engage in freshwater resource protection in the Columbia River headwaters in British Columbia, the Caribbean coastal area of Costa Rica, and in Island County, Washington. She has a Master’s degree in Resource Management from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Western Washington University.
