Minimize impervious surface where possible: many of the impacts predicted by climate change models are worsened by impervious surface.

Slow down waterflow to help safeguard streams as storms become more intense. If you live in the Vashon Sewer District you can get a free consultation on slowing stormwater flows on your property by contacting islander Michael Laurie: mlaurie@mindspring.com. Another good resource is King County Stormwater Services or 12000 Rain Gardens in Puget Sound.

Plant trees! Trees shade streams decreasing heat impacts in summer. They also help slow stormwater runoff in winter. And, they sequester carbon! And, some people enjoy hugging them. Yay for trees.

Support policies and actions that slow or stop climate change on a broad scale. Some things we cannot do anything about locally. For example, the timing of rainfall is predicted to shift to a later start in the fall. This will make it hard on salmon that require rain to enter our creeks during their fall spawning runs. Encouraging policy changes and actions to stop global warming on a large scale will help minimize changes to large scale climate shifts that impact watershed health.

Mind the Clingers! These stream bugs cling to rocks and get washed out in large storms. Clingers were particularly low in samples from the following watersheds indicating these watersheds may be most vulnerable to increasing stormwater flows: Shinglemill, Gorsuch, Ellis, McCormick, and some stretches of Judd. These creeks are priority areas for decreasing stormwater flows to increase resilience to climate change.

Mind the Mayflies and Blackflies! Some species of mayflies and blackflies increase with nutrient enrichment. The proportion of blackflies also increases in a stream sample as stream temperatures rise. Watersheds that had higher levels of blackflies and higher proportions of some mayfly species are predicted to be most vulnerable to heat and nutrient-enrichment: Ellis, Judd, Gorsuch, Christensen (nutrients but not heat). Planting trees in these watersheds and decreasing sources of nutrients (from animal manure to fertilizers--even organic, to septic leaks) would help increase the resilience of these watersheds to expected climate impacts.