Skagit Watershed

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The Skagit Watershed is the largest basin on the Southern Salish Sea encompassing around 1.7 million acres or 3000 square miles, and is the third largest river on the west coast of the USA. Major tributaries include the Sauk-Suiattle River, Cascade River, and Baker River watersheds. The Skagit Delta is among the largest River Deltas in Puget Sound and is a regional center for Agriculture. The City of Mount Vernon is the dominant market town. To the north, The Samish Watershed is contiguous with the Skagit Estuary and is similar culturally and economically, and beyond that you cross the Chuckanut Massif into the Nooksack River basin and the greater Fraser Lowlands. There is also an easy road north into the South Fork Nooksack Floodplain. To the South is the Stillaguamish River and the Stillaguamish Delta is also contiguous, such that the Samish-Skagit-Stillaguamish estuaries have been considered by some as a single massive geomorphic entity. To the east, the Skagit extends up to the Cascade Crest, with the North Cascades Highway crossing into the Methow Valley. The Skagit Agricultural economy is the largest in Western Washington with a globally significant seed production system, as well as dairies, vegetables and small fruits, and is famous for flower bulb production. The Swinomish Tribe has a reservation in the estuary, the Upper Skagit Tribe is upstream on the mainstem, and the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe is located further upstream in the valley of the same name--all three are Northern Lushootseed speaking people. The Skagit has relatively intact and abundant Salmon populations compared to other Southern Salish Sea rivers, and has sometimes been referred to as the "salmon stronghold" of Puget Sound. River Delta Restoration has been a focus of Salmon Recovery and contact between salmon recovery and agricultural preservation has resulted in social conflict. Strong advocacy groups like Western Washington Agricultural Association and Skagitonians To Preserve Farmland as well as a number of Diking and Drainage Districts have a strong political voice. Skagit County has fully developed its Conservation Futures authority for the protection of farmland.

Notes

The relicensing of dams owned by Seattle City Light is a major issue.
Negotiation between.

Skagit Workgroups and Efforts

The following Workgroups and Efforts are associated with Skagit.

Workgroups

Skagit Climate Science Consortium • Skagit County • Skagit Land Trust • Skagit River System Cooperative • Skagit Watershed Council • Western Washington Agricultural Association • Western Washington Riparian Workgroup

Effort

Barnaby Reach Restoration • Deepwater Slough Restoration • Envision Skagit 2060 • Evaluating Salmon Rearing Limitations in River Deltas • Fir Island Farm Restoration • Fisher Slough Restoration • Island Unit Estuary Restoration • Juvenile salmon response to landscape connectivity change within two Puget Sound river estuaries • Milltown Island Restoration • Skagit Delta Tidegates and Fish Initiative • Skagit Farm, Fish and Flood Initiative • Skagit Farmland Legacy Program • Swinomish Slough Restoration • Wiley Slough Restoration

Skagit Products

The following Product pages are categorized with Skagit.

Documents

Baker et al 2016 estuary restoration lessons learned • Beamer et al 2003 importance of non-natal pocket estuaries • Beamer et al 2005 nearshore and delta restoration for skagit chinook • Beamer et al 2006 deepwater slough effectiveness • Beamer et al 2006 whidbey pocket estuary fish • Beamer et al 2007 fish assemblage greater skagit delta • Beamer et al 2013 chinook salmon non-natal stream rearing • Beamer et al 2018 fir island farms fish monitoring 2015-18 • Boyd 2016 hat slough & fisher slough lessons learned • Ewing 1986 skagit tidal marsh productivity • Friebel 2016 fir island farms lessons learned • Greene & Beamer 2005 skagit delta recovery plan analysis • Greene et al 2021 chinook salmon estuary density dependance • Grossman et al 2011 skagit shallow stratigraphy • Hayes et al 2011 bulltrout use in skagit bay • Hinton & Hood 2007 proposal for monitoring to test design tools • Hood 2006 tidal channel formation as depositional • Hood 2007 tidal channel and island area • Hood 2007 wood and skagit delta shrub swamp • Hood 2009 skagit monitoring strategy • Hood 2012 beaver in tidal marsh • Hood 2019 fir island farms monitoring yr3 • Kairis & Rybczyk 2010 relative elevation model padilla bay • Lee & Hamlet 2011 skagit river climate science • Lipsky 2010 whidbey stakeholder preferences • PWA et al 2004 fir island connector assessment • Parametrix 2010 fisher slough monitoring plan • Porrini 2018 fir island farms invertebrate monitoring • SDHP 2014 skagit hydrodynamic model report • Shannon & Wilson Inc 2011 fir island farms feasibility study • Small et al 2004 hatchery impacts on nooksack and samish coho salmon • Smith et al 2005 tide gate salmon recovery analysis skagit • TNC 2011 fisher slough monitoring baseline report • TNC 2017 fisher slough restoration summary.pdf • WWAA et al 2008 tidegates and fish initiative agreeement.pdf • Weinerman et al 2012 fisher slough economic benefits.pdf • Wright 2021 integrated floodplain management puget sound.pdf • Yang & Khangaonkar 2008 modeling tidal circulation and stratification skagit bay • Yang and Khangaonkar 2009 modeling tidal circulation and stratification skagit bay • Yang et al 2011 model flood and tide

Websites & Datasets

Graphics