The Whatcom County-based Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) received the 2009 Volunteer Organization of the Year Award at the Washington-British Columbia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society annual general meeting (April 20-23, Shelton.) NSEA board president Phil Humphries accepted the award for the organization. “More than 3,000 people volunteer their time each year to restore streamside habitat for salmon with NSEA,” said Lindsay Taylor, NSEA volunteer coordinator. “Because of their hard work and dedication to healthy watersheds and a healthy community, NSEA was able to plant nearly 17,000 native trees and shrubs along our local rivers and streams last year, improving the water quality for both people and fish.” From left, Larry Dominguez, president, American Fisheries Society Washington-British Columbia chapter; Phil Humphries, NSEA board president; Mark Pedersen, AFS WA-BC Chapter vice president.


 

The environmental health of the Terrell Creek watershed in Birch Bay is critical to the survival of local fish and shellfish stocks. One of many projects actively overseen by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) is salmon habitat restoration at a site along Jackson Road. This stream restoration project began in 2003 and is expected to continue for several more years. At an April 18 work party Alexandra Grubb, a Blaine high school junior, joined other Whatcom County volunteers planting native trees at the creek. While she originally chose to volunteer with NSEA in order to fulfill her required junior year community service project, she has since become enthusiastic about the need for volunteers to actively engage in environmental restoration activities. She is shown here performing typical jobs at a volunteer work party: grab a shovel and work gloves at the registration table; dig a hole; plant the seedling; place a tube at the base of the tree to protect it from voles; and at the end of the day gain the satisfaction of helping to plant hundreds of trees and playing a part in improving the health of the local ecosystem. To learn more about Terrell Creek from the experts at NSEA, meet at Birch Bay State Park’s wildlife theater on Friday May 15 at 7 p.m. for Wild About Salmon, and Saturday, May 16 at 10 a.m. for Stream Side Walk. For more information, call 371-2800 or visit www.n-sea.org.