Stewardship Partnership by Bengt Miller, SFEG Stewardship Coordinator | Project 5 of 30
Bengt during a June 2020 stewardship visit to Gilligan Creek.
On a recent visit through the Skagit watershed, the weather was crisply cold after a snow event. The further upriver we went the deeper the snow was. This was a blessing in disguise. We were getting out into the field to steward a couple of conservation properties owned by Seattle City Light (SCL). Stewardship visits involve visiting these conservation properties and making sure everything is above board. Usually, the visits are a snapshot in time of goings-on at the site. The frozen ground provided the opportunity for a longer snapshot since comings and goings were solidified in the snow. On this particular day, no nefarious activities were encountered and we saw evidence of coyotes, deer, elk, and various winter resident birds.
Because the land is owned by the City of Seattle, through SCL, it is public and visitors are welcome. Given the conservation designation on the properties only passive activities are permitted, such as bird watching, hiking, photography, picnicking, etc. If you choose to visit a property be aware that hunting and fishing are allowed within designated seasons with the requisite licenses. I recommend wearing an orange vest, regardless of the season.
Unnamed stream flowing through the Granstrom property
If you are familiar with the Skagit watershed you know that it contains 5 electricity-generating dams. The two on the Baker River are owned by Puget Sound Energy. The three dams upstream from Newhalem are owned by Seattle City Light and provide electricity to Seattle. Since the SCL dams have an impact on salmon populations within the Skagit River SCL compensates for this by purchasing lands with good habitat value and giving them a conservation designation. I intentionally didn’t say ‘mitigates’ because that implies a legal requirement. The properties SFEG stewards for SCL are managed by the ESA Lands Program. This is a voluntary program within SCL. There is also the Wildlife and Mitigation Lands program, which SCL is required to operate as part of their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license.
The partnership between Skagit Fisheries and SCL began in 2010. Since that time SCL has continued to acquire parcels and SFEG has conducted restoration activities on the ones that require it. If you have attended a volunteer planting party with SFEG it’s likely you have planted trees on a SCL conservation property. If you recognize the names Anderson Creek, Iron Mountain Ranch or Granstrom you are a truly dedicated volunteer. To date SFEG has installed about 90,000 native plants on 265 acres owned by SCL. Funding for this has come from SCL, Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Washington Department of Ecology.
SCL properties are managed for multiple use, like this one along the Skagit River that combines grazing and wildlife use.
One thing that makes the SCL ESA Lands program unique is the multi-use nature of some of the properties. Traditionally ‘mitigation’ lands are designated for wildlife and all other use is prohibited. In developing the ESA Lands Program SCL wanted to be conscientious stewards of the land as well as continue to promote local use of land. The solution to this was allowing multi-use opportunities on properties where it was feasible. The Skagit Valley has a long and proud agricultural tradition. There are a number of SCL owned properties where conservation and agriculture co-exist. These properties are prime examples of cooperative multi-use.
In the 10 years that SFEG has been stewarding some SCL properties, we have seen dramatic changes from acres of land lost to bank erosion to the early stages of forest establishment. One thing that excites me the most is when I notice a native plant on site that was not planted. This generally happens at about year seven or eight, when planted trees become large enough to be self-sustaining and exert influence in their local environment. This natural recruitment is something that happens constantly in mature forests and seeing the first stages on a restoration site gladdens the heart. It is felt even more strongly when I know that it is happening under trees that I have planted. If you want to experience something similar attend a SFEG planting event and then visit the site periodically over the coming years and observe changes. I look forward to many more of these experiences over the next 30 years.
