Dark brown water flows quietly through eroded banks, lined by dead cattails and invasive blackberry. The banks are eroded and surrounded by invasive blackberry. This stream runs not through a forest or a farmer’s field, but next to Bellis Fair Mall along the Guide-Meridian. Residents know the crowded street near Bellingham’s shopping district has a lot of traffic, but not many people know that salmon live next to the city’s busiest road.
Baker Creek follows Meridian Street, and meets Squalicum Creek at Squalicum Parkway, then flows into Bellingham Bay. The drainage area of Baker Creek is approximately 3,150 acres and meanders through agricultural, wooded, industrial, commercial and residential areas.
Water quality is essential to salmon survival. Clean, cold water is important for the fish to spawn and survive. Wendy Scherrer, NSEA executive director, said salmon also need high dissolved oxygen levels to breathe. To keep high oxygen levels, the water must be cold. The colder the water is, the more oxygen it can hold.
According to the City of Bellingham Urban Streams Monitoring Program 2005 Report, the dissolved oxygen level of Baker Creek was dangerously low, especially from June through September.
Salmon can survive in water ranging in temperature from 5°C to 20°C. Higher or lower water temperatures usually kill fish, especially when endured for a long period of time. In July and August 2005 the temperature in Baker Creek was 15°C, but dropped below 5°C in February and December of 2005.
Dissolved oxygen and decreased temperature are not the only issues Baker Creek faces. Population growth in Bellingham has caused increased development. Construction of new homes and businesses produces silt, which flows into the stream. This increases turbidity that kills insects, which are salmon’s food. Silt is also harmful to salmon because it clogs their gills. If too much silt accumulates in the stream it will also eventually suffocate salmon eggs.
Whatcom residents directly affect urban streams and salmon cannot live in them if the issues are not taken seriously.
"We made Baker Creek like a sewer," Scherrer said.
Commuters, homeowners, and businesses can protect salmon and Baker Creek. The more people who understand the issues, the more likely they will be willing to solve them.