REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. CXXXIII 



salmon was doubtless due to excessive fisliino- and the destruction 

 of young salmon by irrigating ditches. 



Other salmonoids found in these waters permanently or periodically 

 are the chinook salmon {Oncorhynchus tschawytscha), which appears 

 during tlie summer and early fall; the silver salmon ( 0. Msutch), known 

 here as dog salmon, which comes in October and November; the steel- 

 head trout {Salmo f/airdncri), locally known as salmon tfout and not 

 always distinguished from the black-spotted trout, which appears in 

 March and April, and is caught in the lake by trolling and gigging; 

 the black-spotted trout (/S'rtimo clarMi) and the bull trout {Salvelinus 

 malma)^ which are permanent residents of the region ; and the whitefish 

 [Coregomis iciUiamsoni), which is not uncommon, but not much fished 

 for. Other fishes inhabiting the lake and its tributaries are lampreys, 

 small dace, several suckers, and two or three blobs. 



The most feasible method of replenishing these waters seems to be the 

 enactment of suitable protective laws and their impartial enforcement. 

 The remoteness of the lake from the railroad makes the introduction of 

 fish very difficult. 



BAKER LAKE, WASHINGTON. 



The establishment of a hatchery for the blueback salmon orsockeye 

 {Oncorhynchus nerM) at some point on the northwest coast has been 

 under consideration by the Commission for several years. This is by 

 far the most important species of salmon inhabiting the Puget Sound 

 region, and the call for its artificial propagation has come chiefly from 

 people of that section, although in the Columbia River it is taken in 

 large quantities, ranking next to the chinook in importance. 



Information having been received showing the existence of extensive 

 spawning-grounds in Baker Lake and its tributaries, in Washington, 

 Prof. B. W. Evermann. in August, 1898, made an examination of it 

 with reference to its adaptability for a hatchery site. 



This body of water is located in Whatcom County, in the north- 

 western corner of the State, near the international boundary. The 

 nearest railroad station is Hamilton, a village on the Skagit River, 36 

 miles distant, whence the lake is reached by wagon road and trail, more 

 than half the distance being a trail crossing several creeks which are 

 at times difficult of passage; one of them, Boulder Creek, is fed by melt- 

 ing glaciers on Mount Baker, and for a few weeks each summer is a 

 raging torrent in the afternoon and early evening, fording being very 

 dangerous. The lake is about 1 mile wide and 1^ miles long, and is 

 little more than an expansion of Baker River, the principal northern 

 tributary of the Skagit. It is well surrounded by high mountains, 

 among them Mounts Baker, Shuksan, and Cleveland, on whose slopes 

 are glaciers and large snow fields which feed the headwaters of the 

 Skagit basin. Dense forests of cedar, spruce, hemlock, and other trees 

 exist on all sides. Two streams, JSToisy Creek and Sutter River, flow 

 into the head of this lake, in addition to several smaller streams carry- 

 ing sufficient water for hatching purf)oses. 



