Britt Slough | Project 13 of 30

/in , , /by

 

Skagit Fisheries seining at Britt Slough March 2018 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 “provides a framework for conserving and protecting endangered and threatened species and their habitats” (Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service).  This key piece of environmental legislation has led to the successful protection (and even recovery) of many native species of plants and animals, including the American peregrine falcon, bald eagle, southern sea otter, humpback whale, and the green sea turtle.  However two iconic “listed” species in our own backyards: Southern Resident Killer Whale and Puget Sound Chinook salmon have not yet joined the list of recovered species.  

The Skagit Chinook Recovery Plan is an essential, science-based document that guides local restoration projects. In addition to laying out restoration goals and methods, this document also specifies high priority areas for restoration and conceptual projects for these. Nearly 15 years later, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group is currently in construction for one of these important projects, the Skagit Forks Wetland Reconnection Project.

Part of the newly built channel reconnecting the wetland June 2021

The Skagit Forks Wetland Reconnection project is located close to the center of Mt. Vernon on public property within one of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Skagit Wildlife Areas on the river side of the dike. This project will restore high quality rearing habitat, which salmon and trout need in order to survive their first months. Experts agree that a lack of quality rearing habitat is a critical issue that is limiting the ability of Chinook populations to recover. Skagit Chinook require both freshwater habitat, such as side channels and wetlands, as well as estuary habitat in their early life, but there are not enough of these habitats available. Restoration projects that open up more of this freshwater rearing habitat benefit Chinook salmon (Source: Beamer et al 2005).

Juvenile pink salmon found by Skagit Fisheries staff 2.11.2020 in the Skagit Forks Wetland

Historically, this wetland in the floodplain was well connected to both the Skagit River and Britt Slough, but human modifications in the early 1900s changed this. For the past few decades, the wetland was only connected with the Skagit River a few times a year during high flows. At those times, river water would fill the wetland and baby salmon would come with it, seeking shelter from the harsh river current.  When the river level decreased a short time later, the wetland would become isolated, trapping any baby salmon still there. For several weeks these salmon would have a great life, enjoying plenty of food, shelter, and space. Skagit Fisheries collected years of pre-project data and observed coho, pink, and Chinook juveniles in the wetland thrive during this time period, typically in early spring.  However, eventually the wetland would dry up and all of these juvenile salmon would ultimately die, unable to return to the river due to these floodplain modifications. 

Skagit Fisheries staff seining February 2020 

Construction that started in May is well underway! This summer, an additional 7.8 acres of off-channel wetland rearing habitat will be reconnected to both Britt Slough and the Skagit River, improving the function of roughly 50 acres of floodplain. Not only will this allow juvenile salmon to have easier access to this critically limited nursery habitat at lower river flows, it will also give them more time to leave the wetland. Ultimately, this will increase their chances of feeding an orca, supporting the livelihood of local fishermen, reaching a Skagit resident’s dinner plate, or returning to its native stream to reproduce.   

 

Citations: 

US fish and Wildlife service: https://www.fws.gov/international/laws-treaties-agreements/us-conservation-laws/endangered-species-act.html#:~:text=The%20Endangered%20Species%20Act%20(ESA,threatened%20species%20and%20their%20habitats.

EPA: https://www.epa.gov/salish-sea/chinook-salmon#:~:text=Salish%20Sea%20Chinook%20salmon%20populations,shown%20a%20relatively%20stable%20trend.

NOAA Orca: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/southern-resident-killer-whale-orcinus-orca

NOAA Chinook: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/chinook-salmon-protected

Adapted Chinook Recovery Plan: https://www.skagitwatershed.org/wp-content/uploads/SkagitChinookRecoveryPlan13.pdf

Beamer et al 2005: http://skagitcoop.org/wp-content/uploads/Appendix-C-Freshwater.pdf

Cedar Grove | Project 12 of 30

/in , , /by

Located 1.8 miles upriver of Dalles bridge in Concrete Washington exists Cedar Grove; a quiet wetland located in the Skagit floodplain in a channel long abandoned by the mainstem river. It may surprise some readers to learn that Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group is currently working with Skagit County Public Works, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete a restoration project designed to benefit Skagit Chinook and (by extension) resident orcas.

SFEG staff (From left to right, Joe George, Erin Matthews, and Sue Madsen) collecting fish use data at Cedar Grove 2019

Thanks to increased awareness, most Washington residents know that our iconic Southern Resident Orcas are critically endangered. Although the current population includes a total of 75 individuals, only 30 of those orcas are effective breeding population members, aka potential parents. Chemical and noise pollution are serious issues for these animals, however one of the main factors thought to be pushing them towards extinction is a lack of access to their primary prey species: Chinook, or king Salmon. Unfortunately for the orcas, and for all other Washington residents who enjoy a king salmon fillet, Chinook are also listed as “threatened” according to the federal endangered species act.

 

Washington Conservation Corps Crew Leader, Mitch Biggs, measures a resident cutthroat trout at Cedar Grove, May 2021

In the winter and spring The Cedar Grove swells with river water as the Skagit River expands due to rain snow melt.It’s a protected place where newly hatched salmon and trout who don’t stand a chance against the harsh river current can take refuge and wait out the storm before continuing their journey to the ocean. Some of these tiny juveniles, such as trout, coho and some Chinook, will seek out habitats like this one and will remain there for an entire year before they head out to the ocean, but only if the conditions stays habitable year round. These nursery habitats are not abundant enough in the Skagit, a lack of freshwater rearing habitat is one of the primary limiting factors for juvenile Chinook in the Skagit. Recent research suggest that when juvenile salmon cannot find a suitable place to rear they tend to head out to the ocean early-and perish.

Volunteers from the 4th Corner Fly Fishers pose with their newly constructed public river access trail at Cedar Grove

How does a construction project in Concrete WA help Orcas? Cedar Grove is an excellent place for a baby salmon to rear, however it is currently limited by a severely undersized culvert that blocks 3.5 acres of pond and wetland habitat fed year round by cool groundwater springs. This is why Skagit County Public works plans on replacing the perpetually-beaver-clogged 2ft in diameter pipe with an appropriately sized 120 ft long pedestrian bridge. SFEG crews have been collecting pre-project data since 2018 and have observed hundreds of salmon including juvenile coho, Chinook, and cutthroat trout as well as numerous native non-salmonid fish species. Many times, SFEG staff have observed these salmon congregating at the culvert outlet, unable to access the resources and space upstream. Ultimately, we expect this project to benefit hundreds of juvenile salmonids per year by opening up a large area with abundant food and safe hiding places for them to rear in and prepare for harsh open ocean life.

If you would like to see this site for yourself you are in luck!

This project is located on a publicly owned WDFW property in Concrete WA and (thanks to the hard work donated by the 4th Corner Fly Fishers) visitors to Cedar Grove can currently enjoy a newly built foot trail that winds through the forest and access the shore of the Skagit River. In the near future this trail will be made into a loop enhanced by several benches and an interpretive sign. We expect to complete this project by summer 2022 when SFEG will assist the County with construction of the 120ft pedestrian bridge.

Thank you National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for donating funds to support this work. 

Learn more about NFWF’s Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program 

A juvenile coho salmon and hundreds of other juvenile salmonids rearing downstream of the barrier culvert at Cedar Grove. Photo by Erin Matthews 

When Going With the Flow Leaves You Stranded

/in , /by

By Erin Matthews

Chum salmon begin their life in a nest (called a Redd) built by their parents in a gravel bottomed stream usually in the lower sections of the river.  At barely an inch long, these newly hatched masters of evasion and disguise are only visible by a vigilant human observer.   Unlike other species of salmon, chum begin the long, treacherous,  journey to the ocean immediately after hatching—before they are even strong enough to swim against the currant!  They drift to the ocean, occasionally resting in off-channel habitat such as sloughs or ponds to rest, take shelter from the awesome power of the Skagit river currents, and to feed on bugs or plankton.  Those tiny fry that are lucky and strong enough to dodge birds, bigger fish, and other predators, spend a few months growing larger and stronger at the mouth of the river and estuary before leaving for the wide open ocean. 

But if a little chum takes refuge in a pond or slough, what happens if the river drops and strands them?  That is a question that the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group field staff were pondering on a lovely sunny Monday afternoon in early May.  At a stewardship site near Concrete WA called the Lower Baker Flood Plain, a team of staff, and volunteers dropped a research net into a pond that (despite being only a few meters from the banks of the river) had been disconnected from the Skagit for several weeks.  In a perfect, simple world, by early May all Skagit chum fry would be fat and happy living in the estuary where the Skagit River merges with Skagit Bay. 

Much to our surprise, we netted 17 chum in the shallow end of the pond.  Staff carefully recorded size and species of each individual fish, noting that these fish were especially large and well fed for their age, before releasing them back into the pond.  These little fish were doing well for now, no doubt benefiting from the nurturing environment of the pond which offered an abundance of shelter, food, and a water temperature cool enough for high dissolved oxygen levels but warm enough for the fry to grow larger faster than their counterparts in colder Skagit River water. 

Chum rarely rear in fresh water, and when they do they still must reach the ocean by the end of summer in order to survive.  Luckily for these fish, a heat wave washed over the Skagit in mid-May, which rapidly kick started spring snow melt and raised the water level of the Skagit enough to reconnect the pond and river, creating an exit for the fry.  If all goes well, the next time SFEG drops the research net into the Lower Baker Flood Plain pond we will not find any salmon.