In a tannic pool along the upper stretches of Hylebos Creek, Hillary Kleeb watched as a mature female coho salmon materialized from the shadows in front of her.

From a spot that before seemed only a mosaic of rocks and riffles, the silhouette of the fish and the swaying of its dark-colored body gradually appeared from the Hylebos.

Tucked behind a log next to the bank, the small fish hovered over a modest redd of bright gravel, protecting her eggs until instincts told her to let the Hylebos push her tired body downstream.

Despite a decaying tail fin and a few scratches along her flank, Kleeb said the salmon looked healthy. A treasured prize for a wildlife enthusiast and a sign of hope for the creek.

"This is the first fish I've spotted this season," said Kleeb, the Stream Team Coordinator for the Friends of the Hylebos Wetlands.

The Friends is a local nonprofit organization that has become the caretaker and active voice for the Hylebos watershed. Flanked by rapid development to the north and commercial interests to the south, the creek must rely on advocates like the Friends to maintain its status as a viable salmon rearing stream and lifeblood of the water quality of southern King and northern Pierce counties.

With many branches of the creek spanning a large area from the Hylebos waterway to downtown Federal Way, the Friends have implemented a team of volunteer salmon watchers to keep a count of its returning fish.

"The count is more for our understanding of the area," Kleeb said. "We use the data to determine which parts of the watershed the fish are using (to spawn), and which ones need more work."

The organization has secured several large expanses of key salmon rearing habitat along the watershed, including a large expanse of the creek-side property in Fife, a wetlands area in West Milton, and the Friends' centerpiece, the 25-acre Spring Valley Ranch property in Federal Way.

When finished, the patchwork of acreage should meld into a quilt of high quality habitat for salmon and other wildlife.