Learn About Salmon at Bellingham Public Library

The chum salmon fry that came to the Bellingham Public Library Children’s Department as eggs on January 12, 2026 have been released into Whatcom Creek to begin their new life in the wild!

Thank you to everyone who made this program possible: Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, City of Bellingham Public Works, the Friends of the San Juans (who shared their Salish Sea Dome), BTV (who made the Salmon Cam livestream possible), and the Bellingham Public Library staff who cared for the salmon while they were with us.

We are grateful to Westshore Canoe Singers for offering a blessing for the salmon, and to everyone who joined us to help release the salmon on March 26, 2026. What a wonderful celebration!

2026 Photos

Salish Sea Dome Experience – March 5, 2026

Community Salmon Release – March 26, 2026

Library staff displaying a book about salmon through an aquarium

Salmon Run by Annie Chen

“A tiny egg in the Duwamish River grows into a Salmon and maps a journey 800 miles to the Pacific Ocean!

This beautifully illustrated book shows how the Salmon grows and hides and swims through each of it’s stages until it ultimately lays eggs of it’s own. This is the most beautiful nonfiction picture book about Salmon I have read.” Children’s Picture Book. Recommended for kids age 4 – 12

– James, Public Services Clerk

Salmon Restoration in Bellingham

Did you know that the City of Bellingham has a restoration program focused on restoring habitat and improving water quality for fish and wildlife? Learn more at cob.org/habitat.