Tens of thousands of wild chum salmon are pushing their way into the lower gravel channels of Chico Creek this week, marking the second full autumn spawning migration since the Washington State Department of Transportation completed its $56.8 million Highway 3 fish-barrier removal project in late 2024.
This compressed freshwater life cycle means returning adults rely heavily on immediate stream navigability and intact estuarine conditions at the mouth of Chico Bay.
Under the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, the Suquamish Tribe retained harvesting rights in their usual and accustomed grounds, which encompass the entire eastern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula.
While initial legislative cost estimates anticipated spending approximately $3 million to $5 million per crossing, complex urbanized intersections such as the State Route 3 junction at Chico required highway realignment, extensive retaining walls, and utility relocations that multiplied total project expenses tenfold.
Upstream in the watershed, non-profit land trusts including the Great Peninsula Conservancy have secured protective deeds on hundreds of forested acres in the Chico Salmon Park and Lost Creek sectors.
Tens of thousands of wild chum salmon are filling Chico Creek as the $56.8 million Highway 3 fish-barrier removal project marks its second fall spawning season in Kitsap County.