Skagit Bay Archives - Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

SVH: Swinomish Tribe gets grant to study rising sea levels

Post author:Kari Neumeyer
Post published:August 4, 2009
Post category:NWIFC Blog

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…)

Cooperation Shows the Way

Post author:Billy Frank, Jr.
Post published:April 1, 2009
Post category:Being Frank

For years, Skagit County has been a battleground between fishermen and farmers. After a recent court victory the Swinomish Tribe is finding a way for the once warring sides to come together for the good of salmon habitat.

A few years back, the Swinomish Tribe sued Skagit County Dike District No. 22 for building tide gates without the permits they needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In September, a federal judge ruled that the district had violated both the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

With the judge’s ruling on their side, the Swinomish Tribe took the issue out of the courtroom. Instead of forcing the district to pay federal fines, the tribe suggested that the two become partners in restoring 200 acres of estuary in the Skagit delta.
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