Big Beef Creek - WRIA 15.0389

The Big Beef watershed is about 14 square miles, with 11 miles of mainstem and 24 miles of tributaries. The creek originates in a series of wetlands, flows through Lake Symington, down a moderately confined ravine, and opens up to a complex floodplain with side channel habitats. The estuary is 47.7 acres in a semi-enclosed lagoon, composed mostly of intertidal mudflats.

Stock Status: See salmon distribution maps, stock charts, and documents (right side of screen).
Federally listed (threatened) – HC/ESJF summer chum spawning and rearing (extinct in 2002 SaSI)
Healthy – coho; fall chum (2002 SaSI)
NOTE: Summer chum stock was extirpated. Summer chum reintroduction program using Big Quilcene River stock conducted 1996 to present.

Land Use: The upper watershed harbors intense commercial forest activities, while hobby farms and residential development occur around Lake Symington. The UW research facility is located in the lower valley bottom and upper estuary.

Factors for Decline: Altered hydrologic patterns from residential development for both low flows and winter peaks are a significant limiting factor. Coarse sediment aggradation; high levels fine sediment in spawning gravels; loss of channel complexity; alteration of estuarine habitats; degraded riparian conditions; elevated temperatures from Lake Symington and general development impacts.

For all references and an expanded version of this description see the Hood Canal Coordinating Council’s Habitat Recovery Strategy for the Hood Canal and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, version 09-2005