Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association

COMMUNITY BASED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION STRIVES TO RECOVER SALMON BY ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITY IN RESTORATION, EDUCATION, AND STEWARDSHIP.

HABITAT RESTORATION: NSEA'S SALMON RECOVERY FOCUSED HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS HAVE A STRONG FOUNDATION IN SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY AND ARE PLANNED AND IMPLEMENTED WITH MANY PUBLIC, PRIVATE, TRIBAL, AND BUSINESS PARTNERS. FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, NSEA COMPLETED 34 NEW PROJECTS INCLUDING EIGHT LARGE WOODY DEBRIS PROJECTS AND THE REMOVAL OF 15 FISH PASSAGE BARRIERS WHICH OPENED 10.6 MILES OF HABITAT. NSEA ALSO IMPROVED 10,760 FEET OF STREAMBANK RIPARIAN HABITAT AT 55 DIFFERENT SITES THROUGH THE REMOVAL OF INVASIVE VEGETATION AND THE PLANTING OF OVER 20,000 NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS. IN ADDITION TO NEW RESTORATION PROJECTS, 103 PAST SITES ALONG OVER 35,450 FEET OF STREAMBANK WERE MONITORED AND MAINTAINED.

EDUCATION: DURING 2021, NSEA'S EDUCATION PROGRAMMING IN SCHOOLS CONTINUED TO BE REDUCED DUE TO PANDEMIC GUIDELINES. STAFF CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON DEVELOPING AND SHARING ONLINE RESOURCES. PROGRAM STAFF TRAINED 15 INTERNS WHO HELPED LEAD EDUCATION PROGRAMS OUTDOORS AND VOLUNTEERS TO PLANT TREES. NSEA STAFF WORKED TO EDUCATE AND ENGAGE 540 FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS THROUGHOUT WHATCOM COUNTY IN THE "STUDENTS FOR SALMON" PROGRAM. STUDENTS REMOVED OVER 1,000 POUNDS OF INVASIVE VEGETATION AND PLANTED OVER 100 NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS ALONG SIX STREAMS. THIS FLAGSHIP PROGRAM, STARTED IN 2000, PROVIDES EACH CLASS WITH A CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND FACILITATED FIELD TRIPS TO STUDY STREAM ECOLOGY. ADDITIONALLY, NSEA INSTRUCTORS LEAD CLASSES THROUGH STEWARDSHIP ACTIVITIES WHICH OFTEN INCLUDE RESTORATION PROJECTS. NSEA STAFF HOSTED MORE THAN 100 STUDENTS THROUGH THE CONNECTIONS PROGRAM-WHICH PROVIDED SAFE OUTDOOR EDUCATION WHILE PROVIDING CHILDCARE FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS IN THE 2021 SCHOOL YEAR. NSEA PARTNERED WITH SEVERAL OTHER LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO LEAD 36 EDUCATORS IN TEACHER TRAINING THROUGH THE TEN-HOUR CLIME TIME PROGRAM. WE SUCCESSFULLY PILOTED A SUMMER CAMP WITH 95% OF SPOTS FULL THE FIRST SEASON. SUMMER AND FALL OF 2021 BROUGH INCREASED OPPORTUNITIES TO DO OUTREACH. NSEA'S SUMMER RIVER STEWARDS PROGRAM LED GUIDED RIVER WALKS ALONG THE NOOKSACK RIVER AND HOSTED OUTREACH BOOTS FOR OVER 1,500 INDIVIDUALS DURING THE SUMMER 2021. DURING THE FALL, WE HOSTED EIGHT SALMON SIGHTING EVENTS ALONG SIX CREEKS WHICH OVER 500 PEOPLE ATTENDED. THESE EVENTS PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO LEARN ABOUT SALMON, SALMON HABITAT, AND HOW WE, AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A COMMUNITY, CAN SUPPORT SALMON RECOVERY.

STEWARDSHIP: NSEA IS A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION AND STRIVES TO ENGAGE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN SALMON RECOVERY. VOLUNTEERS SUPPORT MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND HELP A SMALL CORE STAFF ACCOMPLISH FAR MORE THAN WOULD OTHERWISE BE POSSIBLE. AMERICORPS MEMBERS THROUGH WASHINGTON SERVICE CORPS AND A WASHINGTON CONSERVATION CORPS IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS, LED PROGRAMS, AND WORKED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO SUPPORT HABITAT RESTORATION AND STEWARDSHIP ACTIVITIES. COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE CENTRAL TO THE MISSION OF INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY IN SALMON RECOVERY. IN 2021, 2,300 HOURS WERE DONATED BY 876 COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS WHO PREPARED SITES, REMOVED INVASIVE VEGETATION, AND PLANTED NATIVE TREES ALONG LOCAL CREEKS TO HELP IMPROVE SALMON HABITAT. THESE VOLUNTEERS RESTORED ABOUT 1.8 MILES OF RIPARIAN HABITAT ALONG 13 DIFFERENT CREEKS AT 46 COMMUNITY WORK PARTIES. VOLUNTEERS PLANTED 2,800 NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS AND REMOVED 6,900 POUNDS OF INVASIVE VEGETATION. COMMUNITY MEMBERS ALSO POTTED UP 6,600 NATIVE PLANTS IN THE NURSERY FOR FUTURE WORK PARTIES. AMERICORPS PROGRAM MEMBERS THROUGH WASHINGTON SERVICE CORPS & WASHINGTON CONSERVATION CORPS CONTRIBUTED A TOTAL OF 13,600 HOURS OF TIME TO NSEA IN 2021. MANY OF THOSE HOURS CAN BE USED AS IN-KIND MATCH TO MEET GRANT FUNDING REQUIREMENTS. THE DOLLAR VALUE OF THE NSEA VOLUNTEER HOURS IN 2021 IS WORTH 453,786. (2021 INDEPENDENT SECTOR RATE OF 28.54/HOUR).