North Olympic Peninsula Watershed Page

  • For Salmon Recovery Planning and Watershed Pages by WRIA, click here
  • For Salmon and Habitat Information Resources, click here

Return to NOPLEGroup.org Table of Contents, Site Map

DRAFT, last updated 2/4/05

Morse Creek Watershed Page – WRIA 18, Tier 1

A. Watershed Information:

  1. General Watershed Description: (from LFA 18 at p. 42): Morse Creek is the largest of the independent drainages to salt water between the Dungeness and Elwha rivers, entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca approximately 2 miles east of Port Angeles. Morse Creek is a moderate sized watershed that drains steep headwaters of Olympic National Park including Hurricane Ridge, Mt. Angeles, and Deer Park. Within the Morse Creek watershed, 28,800 out of the total 36,600 acres, or approximately 10% are in the Olympic National Park (Tetra Tech 1988). Like other watersheds on the North Olympic Peninsula that accumulate significant snowpack, Morse Creek exhibits two peaks in annual discharge (one associated with winter rainstorms and the other resulting from spring snowmelt). Morse Creek is known to have produced a high diversity of salmon species in greater numbers than would be expected for a stream of its size.
  2. Hatchery impacts:
  3. Harvest impacts:
  4. Stakeholders: ONP; Within Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe U&A; City has hydroelectric plant; two homeowner associations; WDFW has purchased 120 acre. Within City of PA UGA.
  5. Tier explanation (from NOPLE Salmon Habitat Recovery Strategy): Morse Creek is designated as a Tier 1/highest-priority Watershed. While the Morse basin is among the smaller of the other basins within Tier 1, it was historically considered among the most highly productive (i.e., relative productivity level of 5 with 5 being the highest) and the most diverse. Morse basin was home to at least 8 separate ESU’s, including Spring Chinook and Bull Trout, both listed as “Threatened” under the ESA, and Fall Coho, Summer Pink, Fall Chum, and Winter Steelhead, all listed as “Critical” by SaSI. Due to negative impacts to habitat over the past 150 years, the Morse basin has experienced significant decreases in stock productivity levels (i.e., from 5 to 1). While the effort to restore and improve stocks in the Morse basin will be expensive, its productivity potential and diversity warrants such efforts.
  6. Bibliography:

B. Salmon Habitat Recovery Priorities:

  1. Salmonid stocks & their status. The following salmonid stocks occur in this watershed: click here.
  2. Priority salmon stocks. Recovery efforts will be focused on the ESA listed Spring Chinook.
  3. Priority Limiting Watershed Process & Habitat Features. The following limiting habitat feature(s) and/or watershed processes have been identified
    • WRIA 18 Limiting Factor Analysis (1999) “Morse Creek” at pp. 129-135
    • WRIA 18 Watershed Characterization “Morse Creek” “Fish and Habitat” at section 2.6, pp 26-2
  4. Major actions to protect and improve: See
  5. Priority actions and areas:
  6. Community issues: See 4 Seasons neighborhood – Port Angeles urban growth area in Port Angeles Regional Plan, at 31.04.340

C. Recovery Projects:

D. Monitoring:

E. Emerging Issues: