GETTING OUT

Thousands of chum salmon are returning to Johns Creek on the Bayshore Preserve to spawn.

Learn about their journey when Capitol Land Trust and Puget Sound Estuarium host Salmon Experience from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Nov. 10, 11 and 12 at the preserve at 3800 state Route 3, 3 miles north of downtown Shelton.

Admission is free. Patrons can learn about salmon from knowledgeable volunteer docents, view salmon via underwater cameras and take tours of Bayshore Preserve, the site of a former golf course returning to nature.

On Saturday and Nov. 10, the Shelton Timberland Library will host activities for kids and give away prizes at the preserve.

Patrons are asked to leave their dogs at home. Organizers point out fatal diseases can be passed from fish carcasses to dogs.

Docents in orange or green vests will be stationed at good salmon viewpoints. Excellent viewing spots include the Johns Creek Trail, the Johns Creek Estuary Trail, the end of Lookout Trail and the bridge that crosses Johns Creek. At the stations, visitors can learn about salmon biology, the restoration of the preserve and the importance of healthful habitats.

Puget Sound Estuarium will have three underwater cameras set up at three locations to livestream the action. The camera closest to Oakland Bay gives visitors the ability to record video on their phones using Wi-Fi.

This is the third year for the event, drawing 350 at the inaugural event and 850 last November, said Mary Birchem, the community engagement manager for Capitol Land Trust. Capitol Land Trust has owned and managed the land for nine years. During the past decade, an average of 8,000 chum have returned to Johns Creek, with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife counting about 26,000 last year, Birchem said.

The peak spawning occurs the first two weeks of November, so the event is timed "when it hits the max and before it gets smelly," she said.

Birchem said frequent questions include how long chum live (three to five years), and how many eggs they lay (over 3,000, with about 1% living to adulthood).

And what does Birchem hope visitors gain from the experience?

"We hope people start to understand the benefits of local land conservation, not only for the salmon and the habitat, but for their own health, as a people," she said.

The 27-acre preserve offers pristine salt marsh habitat, more than 4,000 feet of Oakland Bay shoreline and the lower portion of Johns Creek. The restoration included removing buildings and a 1,400-foot dike, and the creation of new tidal channels along the marine shoreline and new side channels on Johns Creek.

For more information, contact Capitol Land Trust at 360-943-3012 or [email protected].