Major Projects

Skagit Forks (Britt Slough) off-channel habitat restoration

Where the Skagit River forks to create Fir Island, Skagit Fisheries implemented a restoration project to reconnect the outlet of Britt Slough and a large wetland complex to the South Fork of the Skagit River. This important Chinook recovery project took place on WDFW land located between the dike and the South Fork of the Skagit River with engineering assistance provided by the Skagit Conservation District. Reconnecting this restored off-channel habitat and wetland complex to the Skagit River provides much needed habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon in the lower Skagit floodplain. Young Chinook salmon seek out areas of slow-moving water as they migrate to the estuary as places to rest and grow larger before reaching the salt water. Access to this type of off-channel and wetland habitat is extremely limited in the lower Skagit River floodplain where most of the river is diked.

This project offered a unique opportunity to restore floodplain habitat between the dike and the river on publicly owned land. Skagit Fisheries staff, a Washington Conservation Corps crew, and student volunteers planted 5,280 trees along the restored channel and throughout the floodplain of the project site. Volunteers and staff also participated in monitoring activities to document salmon use prior to project construction. Next year we look forward to continuing to assist with monitoring efforts and document salmon use of

this reconnected habitat.

 

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Pressentin Park Side Channel  

The Pressentin Park project is restoring important habitat for Chinook salmon by reconnecting a one-half mile historic side channel to the Skagit River. Located in Marblemount on Skagit County Parks land, this important Chinook recovery project is not only reconnecting critical side channel habitat for Chinook salmon, it’s also restoring habitat for many other wildlife species, helping to feed endangered orcas, and bringing new recreational benefits to the community. Immediately after connecting the restored channel to the Skagit River, salmon began using it. Spawner survey volunteers counted adult Chinook, coho, and hundreds of pink salmon using the new habitat. This spring we are certain juvenile salmon will be found using the habitat as well.

Recreational amenities added to the Park through grants secured by Skagit County include a new parking area, walking trails, bike-in campsites, picnic shelters, and a playground. Skagit Fisheries developed and installed interpretive signs for the Park. These signs highlight the direct connections between riparian forest ecosystems, native communities, salmon, and orcas. As part of the restoration effort, the project removed invasive plants in the floodplain and restored over 12 acres of riparian area along the new channel with 13,000 native trees and shrubs. The community has been very supportive of this project with over 120 volunteers participating in planting parties held this fall. Although record flooding occurred while we were planting, community volunteers returned in force as the waters receded to continue the restoration efforts.

 

 

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Lower Day Slough Fish Passage Barrier Removal

SFEG has been working to restore off channel connectivity in a former channel of Day Creek, referred to as Lower Day Slough, for over a decade. In the summer of 2024, we plan to complete a fish passage project at culvert #GN34. This project builds on the successful completion of three previous fish passage improvement projects completed downstream on Lower Day Slough between 2014 and 2023 (culverts GN42, GN36, and GN35). Additionally, Skagit County, as of 2024, has secured partial funding to replace one additional fish passage impediment (GN31) upstream of this location.  Once completed, these projects will restore unimpeded access to 1.2 miles of quality off-channel habitat. There is additional riparian planting and habitat enhancement on downstream properties.

Lower Day Slough is located within the Ross Island Reach of the Middle Skagit River, which was ranked as the highest priority area for restoration in the Middle Skagit Assessment (SWC 2022).  This channel flows year-round with cool groundwater that seeps from the southern channel wall.  In both summer and winter, this habitat serves as a vital refuge for vulnerable juvenile salmon. In summer, resident species such as coho, steelhead, and river type Chinook require off channel habitats like Lower Day Slough for rearing.  In habitats like Lower Day Slough with cool groundwater inputs they can forage, evade predators, and escape from heat stress.  In winter, outmigrating juvenile salmon including coho, chum, pink, steelhead and Chinook, use lower energy habitats like Lower Day Slough as refuge from high water events on the mainstream river.  Year-round this slough provides a unique combination of cold, spring fed water and slow water habitat, thus it can support ESA listed bull trout and also lamprey and amphibians. The slough is groundwater fed, which means cold consistent water, even in the driest summers. This will become ever more important as climate change affects the hydrology of the Skagit watershed. 

Funders for Lower Day Slough include: Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB), Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Seattle City Light (SCL). 

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Little Carey’s Creek Stream & Wetland Restoration

 

This project, on Forterra property near the town of Hamilton, will protect and restore a 22-acre wetland and restore the stream channel of Little Carey’s Creek to its former path through a forested area. Riparian planting on site began in the winter of 2023-2024 with 12,000 native trees and shrubs planted by staff and volunteers. Channel restoration is planned for the summer of 2025. In addition, Skagit Fisheries has design funding to improve fish passage at a road crossing immediately downstream.

Historically, the property was used for agricultural purposes, for which a forest/shrub-scrub wetland was cleared, and Little Carey’s Creek was channelized.  Restoration of the stream and wetland will improve degraded in-stream habitat, increasing the availability and quality of spawning and rearing habitat for coho salmon, resident trout, and both river and Pacific lamprey, which were observed spawning in the channel during construction of the 2019 Carey’s Creek fish passage project located less than 500 feet downstream. Throughout the years, Skagit Fisheries has completed many projects in this area, restoring parts of Carey’s Slough, Carey’s Lake, and a fish passage downstream on Carey’s Creek in 2019. 

Funders for Little Carey’s Creek include Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Department of Ecology (DOE). 

 

 

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About Our Projects

We work with willing landowners in riparian restoration projects, improving fish passages, and in-stream restoration projects. If you are an interested landowner, please contact us at kyreiss (at) skagitfisheries.org