Watershed Acreage- 12,150 acres

Anadromous Salmonid Use- Nearshore: Chinook, bull trout, coho, chum, steelhead, and cutthroat
Freshwater: coho, chum, steelhead, and cutthroat

Land Use- Commercial timber, agriculture, rural residental, urban development

Total Stream Miles- 9 miles
Anadromous Stream Miles- 9 miles

Current Land Use Regulations- 6.4 miles type 1 waters; 1.3 miles type 2; 17.1 miles type 3; 6.9 miles type 4; 12.0 miles type 5; 22.8 miles type 9. Note that stream lengths include pond and lake shorelines that are typed in the DNR hydro layer

303(d) Listings- Fecal coliform, temperature

Watershed Description
Skookum Creek is a significant watershed with numerous tributaries providing additional spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids. Little is known of the off-channel habitat except for the heavy use of this system by beavers, suggesting rearing potential for coho and cutthroat. There exists substantial LWD in the system, with a significant logjam at RM 4. Work has been undertaken to place additional wood in the tributaries, with substantial LWD and key pieces being added to Reitdorf Creek, a left-bank tributary, using helicopters in 2002. Several key agricultural landowners in the valley have begun working with cooperators to receive farm plans, riparian plantings, additional LWD placement, and a culvert removal on Little Skookum Valley Creek, a right-bank tributary. McDonald Creek, a right-bank tributary, is the focus to two proposed Family Forest Fish Passage Program projects, each removing partial barriers upstream of a WDFW passable fishway. Burlington Northern railroad operates through this watershed, with numerous crossings through both the left-bank tributaries and the mainstem. These crossing have undergone initial evaluation, but require additional attention as little is known about the impacts of these partial and full barriers on the system.

Ownership Pattern
Commercial timberlands dominate the headwaters and upper watershed, while agricultural pasturelands, rural residential and urban development exist on the valley floor through the lowlands. The Squaxin Island Tribe owns portions of land in the lower reaches of Skookum Creek and its tributaries as it runs through the reservation.

Description from the Salmon Habitat Protection and Restoration Plan for Water Resource Inventory Area 14, Kennedy-Goldsborough. For more information including salmonid stock status see the previously stated document or the Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Water Resource Inventory Area 14, Kennedy-Goldsborough Basin. For fish use see the map image located in pictures. For a list of priority projects and programs in this watershed see the document titled Skookum Creek -Priority Habitat Projects and Programs.