Overheated creeks dangerous for salmon populations
CLE ELUM, Wash. — Walking along the North Fork of the Teanaway River, it’s easy to see its waters sparkling in the sunshine.

It may look like a healthy forest creek, but the state actually considers it a polluted waterway because of a surprising culprit: heat.

Salmon and steelhead prefer cold waters and too much heat can kill them, so finding a way to keep creeks cool is a top priority for scientists working to rebuild the Yakima Basin populations.

“You can have great habitat, but if the water is too warm, you are still going to have sick salmonids,” said Jane Creech, an environmental specialist with the state Department of Ecology. “If we really want to bring salmon back to spawn in the upper reaches, if we want the fry and smolts to rear, the water has to be colder.”

Creech just wrote a proposal for reducing the heat pollution in most of the Yakima River Basin’s .... http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestl...mon-populations