Tide Gates

Cooperation Shows the Way

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.
(more…)

Continue ReadingCooperation Shows the Way

Qwuloolt estuary restoration on schedule

The Everett Herald reports that the Tulalip Tribes’ project to restore the Qwuloolt estuary is on track:

The work will continue through next summer, and by 2010, when the rains come, Qwuloolt will flood. Already, crews have extended creekbeds to historic routes. They plan to remove four tide gates and about 3,000 feet of levee. That portion of the plan alone will cost about $3 million.

(more…)

Continue ReadingQwuloolt estuary restoration on schedule

Standing Up For Salmon

At the expense of the salmon recovery effort, recreational interests have delayed plans to restore crucial chinook habitat in Wiley Slough, in the South Fork of the Skagit River delta. Puget Sound chinook salmon are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. Restoration work was set to begin last summer to return tidal flow to a 157-acre parcel of land around Wiley Slough. Project partners, including the Skagit River System Cooperative and state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), identified the area as a priority for estuarine restoration in accordance with 2003 state legislation to restore public lands for salmon recovery before looking to private land. The parcel, also known as the Headquarters Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area, was acquired by the state in 1962 through a land swap with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The estuary was converted for recreational use – and the salmon habitat destroyed – through dikes, drainage ditches, culverts and tide gates.

Continue ReadingStanding Up For Salmon

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…)

Continue ReadingSwinomish hope for biodiesel from sunflowers

To Save Threatened Chinook, Swinomish Tribe Prepared To Sue

Tribe files 60-day notice of intent, but still hopes negotiations can ward off a suit

LACONNER (September 11, 2003) — Seeking to protect Skagit chinook salmon, the Swinomish Tribe today notified a Skagit County Diking District of their intent to file a lawsuit under the federal Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. After years of attempting to find mutually acceptable solutions locally, the tribe is turning to the federal courts. “We have tried to work cooperatively with the farming community, the Governor, the county and the state, and in every instance they have turned us away,” said Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

(more…)

Continue ReadingTo Save Threatened Chinook, Swinomish Tribe Prepared To Sue