Skagit County, A Place of Beauty

The Skagit is a place of incredible beauty, amazing people, and abundant natural resources. At Skagit Watershed Council, we believe that a healthy community contributes to protecting what it loves – its natural beauty and resource, its cultural richness and history, its people, and its future.

In that spirit of community, Skagit Watershed Council is launching the #OurSkagit photo contest. Head over to our blog to read more!

Skagit Watershed Council

'Our Skagit' is a broad-based initiative to empower folks who live, work and play in the Skagit area to protect our natural environment and our communities through knowledge, dialogue and the motivation to act. The Skagit Valley and its coastal regions are places of scenic beauty and natural resource abundance that have provided us with economic vitality and cultural richness. Diverse communities and interests - fishers, farmers, loggers, builders, recreationists, conservationists and others - have worked hard to steward the bounty and beauty of this place for the benefit of their families and future generations. We all share a sense of community around this special place. While we have differences, we have much more in common that should be celebrated. Our challenge, in the face of so much change coming to our Skagit, is finding common paths forward that recognize and protect our quality of life into the future.

Skagit Watershed Council

"Fewer salmon are surviving, and that means trouble for two creatures that really love the king of fish: killer whales and us... Now with entire ecosystems in hot water, how much longer can they stand?" It's not just the Columbia River that is getting hotter, so are streams in Puget Sound due to climate change. Can we work together to keep salmon as our cultural legacy?
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/22/weather/columbia-river-dams-salmon/index.html

How a dead whale gave new life to debate over dams

Dams in the Pacific Northwest are generating lots of clean electricity, but critics say they are killing the region's vital salmon runs and endangering the local orcas.

cnn.com

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Skagit Watershed Council

Thank you to all who helped make this estuary restoration happen!

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

Earlier this week at Leque Island west of Stanwood, saltwater flowed naturally for the first time in over 150 years! As part of an estuary restoration project, contractors removed over 2.4 miles of levee to restore 250 acres of tidal marsh habitat in the Stillaguamish River watershed where 85% of historic tidal marsh has been displaced. Estuaries are important for juvenile Chinook salmon as they transition from fresh to salt water, as well as shorebirds, waterfowl, and a host of other species in the area. Because Puget Sound's southern resident killer whales rely upon Chinook salmon for food, the project is also closely aligned with orca recovery efforts. Read more from this recent article from the Everett Herald. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/camano-will-feel-a-lot-more-like-an-island-as-of-this-week/ #WildWashington #Conservation #Habitat

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Skagit Watershed Council

Do you love this place and everything it represents? SWC is looking for a motivated professional to engage Skagit's communities in our mission. Check out the job announcement at www.skagitwatershed.org in the "What's New" box.

Skagit Watershed Council | Salmon Habitat Restoration & Protection

Working together to protect & restore salmon runs. Restoring the Skagit’s abundance requires that we join forces and work together in partnership and collaboration.

skagitwatershed.org

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Skagit Watershed Council

Have a beautiful Friday! #ourskagit

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Skagit Watershed Council

“The carving acknowledges the land Evergreen sits upon and the people that were here long before,” Evergreen Principal Brian Isakson said. “It really beautifies the entrance to our school. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a connection with the land and the people.”

And that's what this is all about! Thank you Peter Dunthorne and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe! And Congrats to Sedro-Woolley School District and @EvergreenElementarySchoolSWSD !

Eagle carving ties Evergreen Elementary to Upper Skagit tribe

Peter Dunthorne, presented his latest work of art — an intricately carved eagle — to the students and staff of the Evergreen Elementary School.

goskagit.com

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Skagit Watershed Council

We know that as sea level rises, saltwater will move further upriver and impact streamside vegetation, fish, wildlife, flooding, and farmland productivity. What's fairly new though is a better understanding of how more frequent summer droughts will exacerbate saltwater intrusion by decreasing freshwater flows and increasing salinity. What will the lower Skagit River look like, and how will it function, in 10 or 20 years? How can our community best prepare itself?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/08/climate/ghost-forests.html

As Sea Levels Rise, So Do Ghost Forests

Saltwater is killing off woodlands all along the mid-Atlantic coast, sometimes surprisingly far from the sea.

nytimes.com

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