08/27/2026
Huge shout-out to Cabela's for donating two kayaks to our watershed restoration and monitoring efforts! At CoosWA, our use of kayaks is a little... unique, and might involve swimming alongside the kayaks rather than sitting in them! Here are three ways we are using them so far:
π. π«ππππππππ πππππ ππππ (ππππππ
πππππ πππππ) ππ πππππ
ππ ππππ ππ ππ ππππππ
, ππππππππ
, πππ
πππππππ
.
WHY? At some of our restoration sites, we create ponds for juvenile fish to stop over in during their migration to the ocean. These ponds are calm, compared to the rushing river nearby, and full of good food sources. But are fish using them? YES! With kayaks and sein nets, we've measured 638 fish hanging out in the ponds, and so far, results suggest that they are bigger than those in the river nearby. This means the restoration project is working!
π. πΌππππ πππππ ππππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππππ ππππ πππ ππππ ππ πππππππ.
WHY? When there is a restoration/construction project in the water, it can cause short-term disturbance and harmful conditions for aquatic life. This winter, with the help of the kayaks and our sein nets, we rounded up nearly 2,000 organisms (rockfish, Dungeness crab, and a whole bunch of other critters who share that habitat) from a construction zone to a safe place out of harm's way.
π. π¨ππππππππ ππππππππ ππππ πππππ πππππππ ππ πππππ πππ πππππππ.
WHY? Watershed restoration often takes the form of stopping the spread of invasive species into sensitive areas like salt marshes, which provide critical nursery habitat for several commercial fisheries and countless aquatic organisms. But if we can't access these areas, we have no way to assess their health. The kayaks have given us a way to reach areas that we can't get to on foot so we can look for gorse and Spartina, two particularly dangerous invasive species that can radically shift this fragile ecosystem if left unchecked.
A year in, the kayaks have opened up so many opportunities for our team to improve and understand our ecosystems. And we're just getting started! Who knows what those kayaks will be used for next!
