| Fast Facts |
location
50 miles northeast of Seattle
ecoregions
North Cascades, Willamette Valley-Puget Trough-Georgia Basin
project size
3,200 square miles
preserves
Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area, Port Susan Bay Preserve
public lands
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, North Cascades National Park, Mount Baker, Noisy-Diobsud, Glacier Peak, Henry M. Jackson and Pasayten wilderness areas
partners
U.S. Forest Service, Skagit Watershed Council, Skagit Land Trust, Trust for Public Land, Seattle City Light, Washington state departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Invasive Species, Marine
natural events
bald eagles feed on chum salmon carrion, winter; largest gathering of snow geese in the Pacific Northwest coincides with thousands of shorebirds and raptors, winter | |
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Healthy annual runs of salmon anchor the web of life in the Skagit, the third-largest river system in the western United States. |
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Skagit River and Mount Baker in winter.
© Kevin R. Morris/Corbis |
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An ancient cycle lives on within the Skagit River watershed, where juvenile salmon depart for the sea each year to mature, then return to the fresh water of their birth to spawn and die. The linchpin in this ecosystem, salmon carry the ocean’s richness inland 80 miles from Puget Sound to the Cascade Mountains, in the process nourishing an entire river system, its surrounding forests and the wildlife that depend on them. The Skagit is the only river in the lower 48 that is home to all five species of Pacific salmon.
The Skagit system encompasses more than 3,000 rivers and streams and produces one-quarter of all the fresh water flowing into Puget Sound. In its lower reaches, the river meanders along low banks, changing its course over time and occasionally flooding, creating gravel bars, backwater sloughs and wetlands that provide habitat for wildlife such as salmon and beaver. One of the four largest winter gatherings of bald eagles occurs on the Skagit, coinciding with chum salmon runs. The eagles roost in cottonwood, alder and bigleaf maple that line the river and feed on fish carcasses washed up onto sandbars. |
Coho salmon.
© Keith Lazelle |
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But signs of distress in the celebrated salmon runs sound a warning for the entire watershed. Damming of the river in five places has tamed its wild nature. The Skagit’s banks are increasingly being reinforced with rocks and concrete walls, hindering its natural tendency to wander and flood. Moreover, logging and other activities on adjacent lands degrade the forest and add sediment to the river. | |
In its highest elevations, large portions of the Skagit watershed are protected in North Cascades National Park; its middle and lower elevations are composed of national forests, private timberlands and other private lands. By bringing together private landowners and public agencies a quarter-century ago, The Nature Conservancy catalyzed efforts to protect this vast system. Together we established the Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area partnership, a consortium that has protected more than 8,000 acres to date. Today, we are working to protect private lands in the lower elevations, cooperating with landowners and local communities to meet the needs of the river while promoting compatible management of adjoining lands.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Washington. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
bald eagles, five species of salmon, large order river system, headwater streams and tributaries, and low elevation coniferous
stresses
residential development, timber harvesting, invasive species, altered hydrological regime
strategies
acquire land, modify dam operations, engage community, combat invasive species, encourage conservation management on public and private lands, promote ecologically sound public policies, promote land acquisition by public agencies
results
12,122 acres in conservation management; public-private Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area partnership established | | | | |
