by Marianne Lincoln; photos by Al Schmauder
It is the end of October 2025 and salmon are coming up Chambers Bay. Some have even been allowed over the fish ladders to span naturally rather than be taken at the hatchery.
Sadly, there is no water in Clover Creek. The fish cannot get any farther than Chambers Creek and Leech Creek. The fish ladder between Gravelly Lake Drive and Lake Steilacoom in Lakewood is a sorry situation. There is no water. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested in fish ladders that are useless.
In October 2011 this was the flow in Clover Creek on the portion of the creek between Lake Steilacoom and McChord Air Force Base (now part of JBLM).
In 2011, there are photos of fish ladders that were functioning, but now they are dry in the middle of the season where salmon should be running. This is truly not an acceptable situation. These creeks are groundwater and rainwater fed. The population explosion and bottling of our water are leaving our fish with no place to thrive.
This year a Charter Review Committee is elected. This issue needs to be front and center before those who will determine the structure of our county moving forward. Is their sufficient oversight in the structure of Pierce County to protect our greatest natural resource, fresh water?
The cement fish ladder is on the left and Al Schmauder is standing in the steps that create pools where salmon can leap to the next step.
South of Lake Steilacoom, Clover Creek also has no water. There is water coming out of Spanaway Lake into Spanaway Creek, but none by the time it gets to I-5 in Lakewood. There is no water at the headwaters near the Tacoma Sportsman’s Unit in Frederickson.
There is water at the spring below Camp Montgomery until you get to the former golf course now called Trail’s End. Beavers in that area have stopped it up. From there, to where Clover Creek meets Spanaway Creek it is still completely dry.
Jump ahead to October 2025 to find same creek that has been dry during the summer months in a year where there was 17 inches of rain instead of average 35 inches.
In Everett, voters recently enacted legally enforceable rights to their natural ecosystem in the Snohomish River watershed. With little surprise, businesses including the Master Builders, are trying to challenge that law.
There is a chance that could become an issue here in Pierce County as well. Pierce County boards and commissions, particularly the Land Use Committees and the Planning Commission are filled with people who have an interest in building lots of buildings, not protecting the environment. Clover Creek is a prime example of where that has taken us in Pierce County.
People love the Pacific Northwest because of its water resources, salmon, orca, and other prolific greenery. We should not continue to rush to destroy it all as we develop. There are ways to develop while protecting what we have. Let’s all focus on being good stewards of our home.
For the first time in the last 2025, the fish ladder at Chamber Bay Dam was opened releasing salmon into Chambers creek with over a 1000 fish counted and released. They were potted in the gravels near where Clover and Flett Creeks converge. These breeding grounds are now running dry after last summer’s drought.