Skokomish River - WRIA 16.0001
Tributaries: Purdy Creek -WRIA 16.0005, Weaver Creek- WRIA 16.0006, Hunter Creek- WRIA 16.0007, Richert Springs- WRIA 16.0010

South Fork Skokomish River - WRIA 16.0011
Tributaries: Vance Creek- WRIA 16.0013

The Skokomish watershed is about 240 square miles with 80 miles of mainstem and over 260 miles of tributaries. It drains the southeast corner of the Olympic Mountains and has the largest estuary and intertidal delta in the Hood Canal Basin. The watershed consists of three major drainages: mainstem Skokomish and North Fork (33.3 miles), South Fork (27.5 miles) and Vance Creek (11 miles). The North Fork originates in Olympic National Park, flows through Lake Cushman, and through a spillway to the City of Tacoma Power Generating Facility on Hood Canal, with only 60 cfs remaining in the historic river channel (historical peak flows were 700 cfs). The South Fork also originates in Olympic National Park, but flows through a larger proportion of public and private commercial forest before entering the residential areas of the lower Skokomish Valley. The North Fork and South Fork join to form the mainstem at RM 9, flowing through a wide alluvial valley and through the Skokomish Indian Reservation to the estuary/delta. Vance Creek flows through public and private commercial forest, and eventually through residential/small farms to the South Fork at RM 0.8 (just above confluence with North Fork). Richert Springs is a spring-fed system of channels entering the mainstem at RM 7.9. Hunter, Weaver and Purdy Creeks, all spring fed, enter the mainstem at RM 6.2, 4.1 and 3.6 respectively, each with state fish hatcheries.

Stock Status: See salmon distribution maps (upper right corner of screen).
Federally Listed (threatened) – HC/ESJF summer chum salmon extirpated, but with occasional sightings and rearing in the estuary and mainstem; Puget Sound Chinook salmon rearing and spawning (depressed in 2002 SASI); Bull Trout
Depressed - winter steelhead (2002 SaSI)
Healthy - upper river fall/late fall chum, coho (2002 SaSI)
Unknown - lower river fall/late fall chum, summer steelhead (2002 SaSI)

Land Use: Two hydropower facilities are located on the North Fork (RM 17.3 and 19.6). The South Fork and Vance Creek are dominated by commercial forestry, small farms, and rural residents.

Factors for Decline: reduced flows due to hydropower on North Fork (FERC flows of 228 cfs is 28% of average annual flow and is too low to support recovery of fish resources; 84% should be the minimum, according to EPA); warm water temps due water withdrawals (including hydroelectric); increased sediment delivery from intensive forestry and roads in upper South Fork and Vance Creeks; reduced sediment transport due low flows; loss of estuary/eelgrass habitat; dikes/levees; roads/causeways; channel complexity due removal of LWD, draining of side channels; bed instability due to channelization/dikes and storm flows; increased peak flows due forest practices; channel aggradation, flooding, dredging cycle; degraded riparian condition; water quality problems from septic systems and livestock.

For all references and an expanded version of this description see the Hood Canal Coordinating Council’s Salmon Habitat Recovery Strategy for the Hood Canal and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, version 09-2005.
http://hccc.wa.gov/Downloads/Downloads_GetFile.aspx'id=116447&fd=0