The Skokomish-Dosewallips watershed borders Hood Canal, on the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula. The watershed covers 670 square miles from the Olympic Mountains to the Skokomish River Valley, and has only about 8,000 permanent residents. The largest rivers in the watershed are the Skokomish, Dosewallips, Hamma Hamma, and Duckabush. The Skokomish is the largest source of freshwater for Hood Canal, but smaller streams also carry precipitation and glacial meltwater directly into the fjord. Annual precipitation in the watershed is highest in the Olympic Mountains, sometimes reaching 250 inches a year, and tapers to 60 inches annually along Hood Canal. Four species of salmon and trout listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act live in the Skokomish, and community watershed restoration efforts are ongoing. The Skokomish Watershed Action Team (SWAT) is a collaborative effort towards basin restoration involving over two dozen organizations.

EPA watershed profile:

• Counties: Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason
• National Estuary Programs: Puget Sound
• Other Watersheds Upstream: None
• Other Watersheds Downstream: Hood Canal

Related WRIA: 16

All Puget Sound WRIAs

Sources:

The Wilderness Society

Skokomish-Dosewallips Watershed Management Plan