La Conner

SVH: Swinomish Tribe gets grant to study rising sea levels

The Skagit Valley Herald has a story about the effects rising sea levels have had on the Swinomish reservation:

The reservation’s Snee-Oosh area is just one spot that tribal leaders are concerned will be affected by the sea level rise expected to come with climate change, said Ed Knight, a senior planner for the Swinomish Indian Tribe.

Higher sea levels mean storms and extreme high tides could cause more erosion and damage. Rising water during the 2006 storm came close to cutting off Reservation Road, the community’s northern access point to Highway 20, Knight said. (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe buys waterfront property in La Conner

The Skagit Valley Herald:

The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe recently purchased 6 acres on the La Conner waterfront, including a warehouse and small pier, for $6.8 million.

The land, acquired from La Conner Pier LLC, is directly across the Swinomish Channel from the Swinomish Indian Reservation.

About a half-dozen organizations lease property on the land formerly owned by the Roche Harbor-based limited liability corporation. Among the lessees are the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and two manufacturers, Alpac Components Co. and Comptex Inc. (more…)

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Tribes monitor fish in nearshore ‘nursery’

LA CONNER— Nearly every day in the spring through early fall, somewhere in the Skagit basin and San Juan Islands, a crew from the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) is sampling fish populations.

Rain or shine, in smooth waters or blustery wind, the crew pulls beach seines and sets fyke traps to count and measure fish before returning them to the water. Crew members also record water temperature, salinity, depth, velocity, substrate and vegetation. As a result, SRSC, the natural resources arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes, has a 15-year (and counting) comprehensive database of the way fish use nearshore habitat.

The nearshore is a nursery to a variety of fish including sculpins, perch, smelt, herring and salmon. Puget Sound chinook salmon, listed as “threatened” by the federal Endangered Species Act, depend on estuaries for extended rearing during outmigration.

Monitoring this habitat is a crucial, yet often underfunded, aspect of the salmon recovery effort, said Eric Beamer, SRSC’s research director. Without it, nobody knows whether a restoration project did what it was supposed to do. (more…)

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Upper Skagit Tribe teaches children tribal ties to nature

The Skagit Valley Herald covered the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe’s annual Kids’ Fishing Derby:

Wriggling and splashing, a rainbow trout escaped 3-year-old Ella Simpson’s hook. The half-pint-sized daughter of a fisherman gamely tried again.

With a little adult help, Ella of La Conner caught her first fish from one of the tanks at the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe’s hatchery.

“It’s a fish,” said Ella, holding up the plastic bag that held her prize.

Her brother Ethan, 5, also caught a trout. A more experienced fisherman, he knew how to tell fishing stories. (more…)

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Tribes’ beaver research featured in Seattle Times

The Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC)  has found evidence that beavers living in the tidal marsh are creating prime salmon habitat. The SRSC is the natural resources arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.

The Seattle Times reports:

Today, only about 6 percent of the tidal scrub shrub habitat is left in the Skagit River Delta, and that’s better than a lot of places where it’s gone altogether. (more…)

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Swinomish hope for biodiesel from sunflowers

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.

(more…)

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Landmark “Pathway to Recovery” For Skagit River Chinook Completed

LA CONNER (June 14, 2005) — After more than a decade of hard work, a groundbreaking recovery plan for Skagit river chinook salmon was completed on Friday.

“The plan is a pathway to recovery for wild chinook salmon,” said Lorraine Loomis, fisheries manager with the Swinomish Tribe. “We will not rest until we have achieved our recovery goals, and this is a huge step toward bringing back healthy wild salmon runs.”

The Skagit Chinook Recovery Plan has a wide array of stakeholders, and it already has the endorsement of three: the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The tribes worked in close collaboration with WDFW to ensure that the strongest possible plan would be developed.

(more…)

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Working With Local Farmer, SSC Launches Ambitious Recovery Project

LA CONNER (August 1, 2003) – The latest salmon recovery project from the Swinomish Tribe and the Skagit System Cooperative (SSC) isn’t just critical for fish: it’s a positive step, across daunting barriers, toward cooperative environmental work in the Skagit basin.

SSC, the natural resources consortium of the Swinomish, Upper Skagit and Sauk-Suiattle tribes, is collaborating with local farmer Gail Thulen on a comprehensive habitat restoration plan for 300 acres of Swinomish tribal land ‘ which Thulen leases to grow wheat, peas and potatoes.

(more…)

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