State Supreme Court rules in Swinomish Tribe’s favor in water dispute
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled in the Swinomish Tribe's favor on Oct. 3, in a challenge to the Skagit River instream flow rule amendments adopted in 2006 by the…
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe examines steelhead scales
The Upper Skagit Tribe is analyzing scale samples to determine the age of steelhead returning to the Skagit River.
Unlike most species of salmon, steelhead can spawn repeatedly before they die. They mature at 2 or 3 years, and can stay at sea up to three years before returning to fresh water to spawn.
Upper Skagit tribal staff took scale samples from 75 wild steelhead to be examined using equipment at the University of Washington. Analysis of steelhead scales can tell researchers how many years a steelhead has spent in fresh water before out-migrating and how long it spent at sea. The analysis also will show whether the steelhead migrated back out to sea after spawning in fresh water. (more…)
Environmental groups support Swinomish in water rights dispute
Earthjustice and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy filed a friends of the court brief today with the Washington State Court of Appeals supporting the Swinomish Tribe's effort to…
Swinomish Tribe keeps an eye on water rights issue
Years of agriculture, development and other human activity have led to declines in salmon runs throughout Puget Sound. One reason is that these activities lead to a reduction in the…
Boat ramp and trails close as restoration continues on Wiley Slough in Skagit delta
WDFW released the following press release about the Wiley Slough restoration project, in partnership with the Skagit River System Cooperative, the natural resources management arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes:
OLYMPIA – Beginning July 15, the 175-acre Headquarters Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area will be closed to public access as crews resume work on a major estuary-restoration project at the mouth of the Skagit River.
The closed area includes the public boat ramp and the dike-top trails along the Skagit River and Wiley Slough.
Crews will be removing approximately 6,500 feet of dikes and levees, allowing tides and the river to reclaim the area south of a newly constructed setback dike that was completed earlier this year. The restoration project began in 2008, when crews installed a new, larger tidegate farther upstream on Wiley Slough. (more…)
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…)
PBS: Salmon Streams’ Struggle Continues 40 Years After Clean Water Act
PBS recently featured a report on tribal efforts to restore salmon. The report was based on work done during the filming of “Poisoned Waters.”
From the Jim Leher News Hour:
JIM LEHRER: Next tonight, America’s waterways nearly four decades after passage of the Clean Water Act.
Our story comes from special correspondent Hedrick Smith. It was drawn from his recent “Frontline” project called “Poisoned Waters.” He reports from the Pacific Northwest, where salmon streams are endangered by manmade problems.
HEDRICK SMITH, Special Correspondent: I saw the impact of the human footprint up close here in the Skagit River delta, about 80 miles north of Seattle.
BRIAN CLADOOSBY, chairman, Swinomish tribe: We can fish from here way up the Skagit, but we just choose to fish in this location because it’s a nice, long drift.
(more…)
Swinomish Tribe holds blessing of the fleet
[display_podcast] The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community held its annual Blessing of the Fleet and First Salmon Ceremony on Thursday. The celebration, marking the beginning of the fishing season, honors and…
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.
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…)
Work resumes on Wiley Slough project in Skagit River delta
Crews have begun the next phase of construction on the Wiley Slough restoration project, which will return tidal flow to a former estuary in the Skagit River delta. The Skagit…