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Continued...
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 Flowering plants found growing on the bank of the stream. As I make my way through the desert-like surroundings of the Pumice Plane, the aroma of lupine is gone. I hear the sound of water trickling. Down on the bank I see a small stream with arroyo willow (white willow) and other plants growing alongside. White willow is a tall, jungle-like tree with brown bark that covers the stream with shade. The bank is also covered with pink monkey flower plants that bees land on so they can collect the nectar and convert it into honey. The streambed's rocks are covered with an emerald-green moss that grows in the refreshing 7°C water. I take a water sample to be tested later on. Further down the stream I find some long, slimy moss waving in the steady current. Even though there are no salmon in the stream, it's bringing life back to Mount St. Helens.  Vegetation marks the path of the stream in Pumice Plains. The sun is hot overhead, and dust blows into my eyes. I look out across the horizon. I can see rows of white willow growing towards Spirit Lake. Each row represents the beginning of a new creek. The grasshoppers and butterflies flutter out of our way as we head back up the pumice trail, and the sun sinks behind us. August 28, 2002: At 9:40 on this August morning, I am making my way up the moist dirt path toward the rushing water of Cedar Creek. As the path widens, I see where the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department has set up a fish trap to catch fish, which they count daily. I continue on the path, and a sticky spider web breaks across my face. I reach the edge of the bank, where the 2- to 3-foot-deep water is moving very swiftly. I take the water temperature: 18°C. I take a water sample, too. There are boulders scattered along the bank. Some are too large to see over. Cedar Creek is shaded by fir trees, alder trees, ferns, and other bushes. The boulders at the edge of the creek form pools that black water skippers, periwinkles, and mayfly larvae live in. The animals in the pools provide food for salmon.  Ferns and bushes provide shade for Cedar Creek. I climb over one of the large boulders and move 200 yards upstream. The water is much calmer. The bottom of the creek has gravel, sand, and pebbles for salmon to build redds in. Redds are gravel nests made by the female salmon for her eggs to be laid in. As the water pours gently over the shiny rocks, I spot a brown trout about 1 1/2 inches long swimming along the edge of the water. I climb back over the slick rocks to the dirt path. As I walk down the path, I see three more brown trout and two red-orange crawdads picking their way through the gravel. |
August 28, 2002: At 11:45, I'm at the lower part of Salmon Creek located in Hazel Dell; there are a lot of new homes being built around this part of Salmon Creek. An asphalt path follows along the edge of the grassy bank. The bank is covered with tall grass, a few scattered alder trees, and a hedge of blackberry bushes. I find an opening in the grass that leads to the creek. Once at the bank I tie my thermometer on to a fishing line and cast it to the middle of the creek to get an accurate temperature. After a while I pull the thermometer out of the water. It shows 22°C. I take a water sample. As I examine the murky water, I notice the creek bed is muddy, which is not good for salmon to lay their eggs in. The mud does not protect the eggs from the force of the water, or allow the freshwater to bring them oxygen, as gravel beds do. A movement catches my attention. I see two baby brown trout chasing each other and a four-inch-long red-orange crawdad. September 24, 2002: It's 5 pm as I climb over large logs and tall grass and slog through the quicksand-like mud. The sun begins to set over the treetops. I am at the headwaters of Salmon Creek. As I get closer to the shady bank, there are blackberry bushes, horsetails, alder trees, and grasses on either side. The pebbly bottom of the creek is home to water skippers, mayfly larvae, and periwinkles. Today the headwaters are 15°C.  Red crawdad. December 8, 2002: As I walk along the bank of Salmon Creek behind my house looking for salmon runs, I notice a two-inch-thick layer of foam at the edge of the bank. I wonder where the foam is coming from. I decide to go further upstream to find the source of the foam. I travel to the headwaters of Salmon Creek and make my way down the steep mud path to Salmon Creek falls. At the edge of the waterfall I find the same foam. I go further upstream to find the source of the foam, and see more of it. I think the foam is coming from a house at the beginning of the creek that is dumping something into the water, or perhaps the foam is caused naturally. Analysis  Brown trout. At each location I took a water sample for testing at a local laboratory. I tested the four water samples for conductivity, or the amount of dissolved minerals contained in the water, and pH. Of the four samples, the lower part of Salmon Creek had the highest conductivity. It had a conductivity of 187 µsi (µsi means micro-Siemens/cm; the higher the conductivity of the water, the more dissolved minerals are in it). Car soap, fertilizers, and oil dumped into the creek could possibly have caused this. The second highest conductivity was from the Pumice Plane. It had a conductivity of 95 µsi, most likely from the dissolved volcanic materials in the water. Cedar Creek had a conductivity of 86 µsi. The headwaters of Salmon Creek had the lowest conductivity because there are fewer houses along its banks and it's an established creek. |
