The Snoqualmie River system has remained among the few bright spots for wild coho salmon in the Northwest through the 1980s and 1990s. However, it is an anomaly rather than the norm. What's more, the stock assessment data quality is considered very good dating back to 1977. From 1977-1992, wild coho escapement has ranged from a low of 10,183 in 1981 to a high of 56,920 in 1983. Draining through a series of wetlands and beaver ponds, Griffin Creek enters the Snoqualmie a few miles south of Carnation.
Creeks can be remarkably productive.
However, despite the fact that the Snoqualmie River has been given a healthy stock status for coho based on spawning surveys at 14 index sites in the watershed, it does not mean that each tributary has received adequate spawning escapement to fill every available niche. Nor does it mean that the spawning goal figures chosen by managers reflect the actual biological capacity or needs of the watershed. However, between 1994-1996, eight projects designed to improve fish passage into Stossel Creek were completed, opening up 10.3 miles of habitat. Each of these problem sites was initially identified and restoration nursed to completion through corrective projects by Washington Trout with the monetary and technical support of the varied members of the Tolt Fish Habitat Restoration Group. In the aftermath of these projects, WT has made annual spawning counts as a means to monitor the success of these projects, although securing funding for monitoring has been less effective than securing the initial project funding.