Valley Creek is a small stream, which empties into Port Angeles Harbor. It has been affected by logging and residential development in its upper reaches and improper culvert installation at its mouth. Salmon and steelhead have probably been extinct from the creek since the late 1940’s, when the final sections of the approximately 2,000-foot culvert at the mouth were installed. Surveys conducted during the late '90s of fish in this system revealed numerous resident cutthroat trout up to 11” in length.
Preliminary data from the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Smolt Trap 1998 study provides interesting information about salmonid species in Valley Creek and adjacent Tumwater Creek. The smolt traps were in place during most of the smolt migration and functioned well. In Valley Creek 3 Coho, 55 Cutthroat, and no Steelhead smolt were recovered. In adjacent Tumwater Creek, 119 Coho, 464 Cutthroat, and 323 Steelhead smolt were recovered. In light of Valley Creek’s having almost twice the available stream habitat compared to Tumwater Creek (8,800 square yards vs. 4,576 square yards), it appears that the approximately 2,000-foot culvert negatively affects salmonid species in Valley Creek.