The Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) removed an 80-foot-long, 8-foot-tall, 12-foot-wide culvert from Tenas Creek, a tributary to the Suiattle River. The culvert had provided vehicle access across the creek…
The state Department of Ecology is contributing part of a National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program grant to the Lummi Nation's project to restore fish passage between Bellingham Bay and Lummi…
LOWER ELWHA (November 19, 2008) - The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe's habitat restoration crew is midway through its effort to build 50 engineered logjams on the Elwha River before two…
The SSHIAP approach to characterizing freshwater salmon and steelhead habitat conditions relies on information derived from 1:24,000-scale maps and GIS coverages, aerial photographs, field surveys, existing databases, historical records, and…
More than 80 years ago, President Calvin Coolidge pushed a button that energized Cushman Dam No. 1 on the North Fork of the Skokomish River. The hydroelectric dam dewatered the North Fork, wiping out salmon runs upon which the Skokomish Tribe has always depended.
Cushman Dam No. 1 was joined a few years later by Cushman Dam No. 2, built just downstream. Neither dam allows fish passage. Together, the two dams reduced water flows to a trickle, altering the biology and geology of the river system, and deeply affecting Skokomish tribal culture and treaty-reserved fishing rights. On March 7, after decades of efforts, tribal member Dave Herrera pressed a button that restored a small part of the North Fork’s historic flow from Dam No. 2. (more…)
Here are a few stories from this morning on the decision in the culvert case. Seattle Times: Culvert ruling backs tribes Seattle PI: Tribes win ruling on salmon Associated Press:…
The Seattle federal court decided in favor of treaty tribes in Western Washington in the so-called "Culvert Case." From the decision: The Court hereby declares that the right of taking…
The Skagit Valley Herald has an article about PSE’s Baker River project:
The utility hopes the new $40 million fish passage system and $112 million total in other improvements in the works will quadruple current numbers of Baker River sockeye salmon returning to the watershed to spawn.
The Skagit Valley Herald has a story about the Skagit River System Cooperative’s study of saltwater intrusion on farms and the potential for growing crops that can be used in biodiesel production:
First, it’s a long-term study of saltwater intrusion on the crops and ways farmers can avoid it without compromising fish habitat.
Second, it’s a test to explore a crop that could figure in the local economy — particularly in the realm of growing biodiesel usage in Skagit County.
The Skagit Valley Herald (subscription required) covered an Earth Day event on the Swinomish Reservation this weekend:
Volunteers participated in five environmental service projects in the morning, before relaxing with an afternoon of music, crafts and a salmon lunch.
The service projects included stream restoration work at Lone Tree Creek, within the Thousand Trails campground, clean-up work on the beach at nearby Lone Tree Point and along the Swinomish Channel, blackberry removal around a tribal elder’s home, and invasive Scotch broom and blackberry removal near Swinomish Slough.