'Tis the 'SEEson' for salmon homecomings

It's that time of year to welcome local salmon back home.

Salmon 'SEEson' offers great opportunities across the Puget Sound to view sockeye, chum, chinook and coho salmon as they make their way home from the ocean to spawning grounds in streams and rivers.

King County has teamed up with several partners to provide events within the Lake Washington Watershed where visitors can watch returning salmon.

Environmental experts will be on-hand to share their salmon knowledge with visitors and help spot fish in the streams. These specialists can answer questions about the salmon life cycle, plus what can be done to protect the fish and their natural habitat.

For more information on the salmon-viewing sites listed below, visit http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wrias/8/ and click on "Salmon SEEson," or call 206-205-8755.

Salmon SEEson is sponsored by the Watershed Resource Inventory Area 8 Salmon Recovery Council as part of its effort to recover salmon in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed.

Oct. 6 (1-3 p.m.), and Oct. 27 (1-3 p.m.),
15500 NE 90th St. (on Sammamish River Trail), Redmond
425-556-2822 or pholte@ci.redmond.wa.us

Oct. 6 (1-4 p.m.)
Along Bear Creek and the Sammamish River near Redmond, Water Tenders
425-788-5083 or www.watertenders.org

Oct. 6 (2:30-4 p.m.)
Rotary Community Park Boardwalk along Little Bear Creek, 19518-136th Ave NE, Woodinville
425-398-9327 or www.ci.woodinville.wa.us

Oct. 13 (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
Pickering Farm, Southeast 56th Street and 10th Avenue Northwest, along Issaquah Creek in Issaquah. Issaquah Basin Action Team
206-296-1914 or mary.maier@kingcounty.gov

Oct. 13, 20, 21, 27 and 28, and Nov. 3 (11 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily)
Along the Cedar River near Renton. Friends of the Cedar River Watershed. 206-245-0143, or www.cedarriver.org/about/cedarriversalmonjourney.shtml

Weekends from Nov. 3 through Dec. 9, and Nov. 23 with special activities (11 a.m. -3 p.m. each day)
Piper's Creek (in Seattle's Carkeek Park)
206-684-0877 for more information

Late September to mid-November, Mondays through Saturdays (9 a.m. - 6 p.m.); Sundays (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.) Bear Creek at Classic Nursery and Landscaping Co., 12526 Avondale Rd. NE in Redmond (self-guided). This event is sponsored by Redmond Organization for Shared Environments, 425-882-1846, or lyhussey@comcast.net.