On a chilly October morning, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) donned a hardhat and boots to tour the Conservancy’s work at Fisher Slough, where conservation groups are joining forces with the agricultural community. She and a handful of other community leaders were briefed on the latest updates in our unique restoration project, located near Conway.

The Fisher Slough project, which received $5.2 million in federal stimulus funding, is restoring salmon habitat, providing flood protection for farmland and improving water quality for Puget Sound. It is supporting more than 50 jobs in the Northwest.

“We really have I think hit a triple play here, benefiting fish, agriculture and the environment,” Sen. Cantwell said. “All those things being achieved in one project.”

Joining Sen. Cantwell for a tour of the project site in Skagit County were representatives from some of the Conservancy’s partners in the project, including Skagit County, the Western Washington Agricultural Association and Dike District 3, among others.

“We’re very, very proud that this project is a leader, and a leader in the world,” Cantwell said.

Saving Salmon

Fisher Slough, a tidally influenced wetland and farmland complex, is located in the Skagit River and delta. Cantwell and other guests viewed recently installed floodgates, which will allow salmon passage during crucial times in their lifecycle. Installation of the floodgates was the first of three phases in this $7.6 million project.

When completed, the Fisher Slough restoration project will create about 60 acres of tidal freshwater marsh habitat for juvenile salmon and allow access to an additional 15 miles of high-quality spawning streams. The Conservancy’s fisheries scientists say they are expecting an additional 16,000 juvenile Chinook salmon to migrate out from the streams to Puget Sound.

Sen. Leon John, a spokesperson for the Swinomish Tribe, voiced his appreciation.  “Habitat restoration is pretty important to our tribe because we depend on the salmon who use these estuaries,” he said. “It’s a big part of our culture to be able to catch salmon and eat salmon.”

Helping Farmers

The project also sustains the viability of the farmers who live and work in the Skagit Delta. The next phases include rerouting a drainage ditch away from the restoration site, and setting back a levee to make room for marsh habitat and enable the floodplain to absorb floodwaters.

“That is so important because preventing flooding in the surrounding 23 square mile agriculture watershed area, as the commissioners constantly told me, was as a key priority for this community,” Cantwell said during her visit.

The project was chosen to receive funding through the Obama Administration’s Recovery Act along with 49 other projects in coastal states. These projects were singled out from more than 800 applications because they were the best in job creation and environmental benefits and because they were ready to implement, said Jennifer Steger, NOAA’s Northwest Restoration Center supervisor.

Karen Anderson, Washington director of the Nature Conservancy, said the Fisher Slough project is an example of how conservation will work in the years to come.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Robin Stanton/TNC (From left: Darrin Morrison, Diking District 3; David Dicks, executive director of Puget Sound Partnership; Mike Shelby, Western Washington Agriculture Association; Jennifer Steger, supervisor of NOAA’s NW Restoration Center; Karen Anderson, state director of The Nature Conservancy; Sen. Maria Cantwell; Jenny Baker, Fisher Slough project manager for the Conservancy; Brian Olson, Drainage District 17; Sen. Leon John of the Swinomish Tribe; Lisa Bellefond, Nature Conservancy); Photo © Robin Stanton/TNC (Flood gates at Fisher Slough).