Over an 11-week period last fall, Highline residents counted salmon on Miller and Walker creeks. Braving snow, rain, and dirty stormwater, the volunteers slipped and splashed along the two streams in Normandy Park.

Not afraid of fish guts, they conducted necropsies on salmon carcasses to determine whether the fish had been able to spawn before dying. The fruits of their volunteer labor were a better scientific understanding of the stream -- and a deeper appreciation for wildness that can be found in Highline.

The volunteers were part of the first year of the Community Salmon Investigation for Highline program, also known as CSI: Highline. The purpose of the program is to better evaluate the condition of the streams, which drain most of Burien, part of SeaTac, and the northern part of Normandy Park. Because of their important role in stream ecology, salmon populations serve as an important long-term indicator of whether the water and surrounding land is healthy.

The scientific findings from "CSI: Highline" including photos, video, and final population estimates will be reported at a "season finale" public presentation at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at Burien City Hall. Call 206-296-1909 to learn more.

The 20 volunteers from across Burien and Normandy Park were a hardy, dedicated bunch - and they had to be. They surveyed the streams in all kinds of weather ranging from sunny, warm days to days of constant heavy rain and even snow. During the survey season from Oct. 8 through Dec. 23, only four surveys were cancelled because of bad weather or hazardous stream flows. Part of each survey required walking in the cold, fast-flowing water of the streams. The average survey took about three hours as the volunteers walked carefully and peered under logs and vegetation to catch sight of the well-camouflaged fish.

"I liked wearing the hip-boots and feeling the resistance of the water as we slogged through the creeks," said volunteer Kim Delich of Normandy Park. "It really gave me a sense of the strength and determination of the migrating salmon."

"I was so happy to have an opportunity to be in the creek in my neighborhood looking for fish," added volunteer Merry Ann Peterson, also of Normandy Park. "I was excited to think I could help with a scientific survey so close to home and it was fun to do every week." Given the strenuous work, each two-person team was assigned one day a week to survey.

Although CSI: Highline is a research project, most volunteers did not have a science background. At the beginning of the program the volunteers were trained in fish species identification, data recording, and how to walk in the streams with minimal impact.

Hatchery salmon carcasses were used to teach the volunteers how to do necropsies. Coaching throughout the survey season ensured that the volunteers followed scientific procedure and produced sound scientific data.

From mid-October through mid-November, volunteers mostly saw coho salmon. The volunteers counted 25 adult coho salmon and 10 more adult fish that probably were coho. Although 2010 was the first year of the program, King County staff think these numbers are probably below average because less formal accounts in previous years showed higher numbers and 2010 coho runs in similar streams around Puget Sound also were below normal.

In contrast, the chum salmon run was much more numerous. The chum began returning in the second week of November and were seen up until the last day of the survey season, two days before Christmas. There were 342 sightings of chum and 52 sightings of fish that probably were chum. Because the chum survive several days in the creeks before spawning and dying, some of these sightings were of the same fish over two or more days. The most chum were seen on Dec. 2, when 33 of the big fish were observed.

In addition to counting live fish, the volunteers took measurements of over 60 fish carcasses. Where possible, they cut open the carcasses to determine whether the fish were able to spawn before they died. Information from the necropsies may help scientists understand why many coho salmon are dying before they can spawn, a problem common across Puget Sound and thought to be linked to stormwater pollution.

Volunteers also learned a lot about how urban streams work. Much of the water in local streams is stormwater runoff from local streets, houses, and businesses and none of it is treated before emptying into the streams.

"One of the things that I really came to understand is that the rain that falls on First Avenue can be in the stream just an hour later," said Joy Neubauer of Burien, who volunteered with her husband, Roger. "When you see all that dirty water rushing down the stream at you, it really brings home that oil from leaking cars, lawn fertilizer, and even dog poop doesn't just 'go away' - it ends up in our creeks."

The Miller and Walker Creek Stewardship Program, which is jointly funded by the cities of Burien, Normandy Park, and SeaTac, as well as King County and the Port of Seattle, organized the salmon survey. Several private landowners allowed the survey teams to access the streams on their property.

The second season of the Community Salmon Investigation program will start this October. Stream locations in Burien will be added if enough volunteers sign up.

Long-time stream volunteer Andy Batcho of Normandy Park summed up the first year of the new salmon monitoring program this way: "After 25-years of working to restore local streams, it's not only great to see that we have returning salmon, but even better that we have a community of citizens that has taken ownership of their streams, which is the ultimate salmon recovery tool."