Salish Sucker (Catostomus sp.): An Endemic to Cascadia, Found in Stream Habitat in Snohomish County

The Salish sucker (Catostomus sp.), an endemic sucker species found in the Puget Sound Region and is listed in British Columbia as Endangered under the Species of Risk Act (SARA), Canada.  Williams et al listed the species as endangered in an article published in Fisheries magazine in 1989. These small suckers are commonly found in marshes and beaver ponds where water is deeper than 70 cm. In addition they are found to inhabit smaller streams in British Columbia, which is reported to be atypical as compared to locations indentified to contain Salish suckers in Washington. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted surveys and reported locations in the 1970s and 1990s, in which five locations identified as being occupied by Salish suckers in Snohomish County. These populations were identified in ponds and off-channel habitats in the Sauk and Stillaguamish watersheds. Here we are reporting the discovery of two populations of Salish sucker in stream habitat tributaries to the Snohomish watershed in Snohomish County, with a brief description of stream habitat parameters at locations of occurrence. This would be the first reported locations of Salish Sucker in Snohomish County streams.