Fishkills Continue in Highline Creeks

The killing goes on. Miller Creek, a historic salmon creek, remains a zone of death for salmon returning to spawn. During this season's run, observers were able to count only 30 live adults in places where they used to count hundreds. Yet, year after year, Trout Unlimited plants 100,000 to 125,000 coho in Miller, Walker and Des Moines Creeks.

What happens to these fish? In November 1999, there was a devastating fishkill. Subsequently, on April 13/14, 2000, all the planted babies were killed of, by pH of 8.9+ for three straight days. (The 2000 plantings should have been returning this year.) At the June 2000 Commissioners' meeting at the Airport, Port staff said (as they so often do) that there are no fish in Miller Creek – No fish? Then what are those things that the ongoing pollution kills? What do we see in the innumerable photos & videotapes taken along the shores of Miller Creek over the several years?

Though there was some improvement after counts in Miller Creek were dismally low in the early to mid 1980's, this year the counts are dropping to those earlier levels.

And what is it that kills the salmon? Could it be the elevated levels of copper, zinc, & glycols that come from the Airport year after? Could it be something up in the headwater that puts pH readings far beyond the acceptable? We have hundred-page water-pollution permits, thousands of pages of studies, yards of Port news releases – but the killing goes on. When does it stop?

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