Sunny Day Stewardship

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On a recent cool sunny day, SFEG staff visited a few Seattle City Light-owned properties upriver.  Hydroelectric dams, of which Seattle City Light (SCL) has three on the Skagit River,  impact salmon and to compensate for (or offset) this SCL buys lands and puts them into a conservation trust.

Bengt Miller, Stewardship Coordinator, along the Skagit River at the Illabot Creek property

SFEG stewards about 2,500 acres for SCL. These lands are managed for multiple use by wildlife and humans, though regular check-ins are required to ensure plants are growing and human use is light and as intended.

Some of the new trees planted at Illabot Creek

At the sites known as Illabot and Carefree Acres, staff assessed the growth of newly planted native species, planted a few additional plants, and documented some new and existing human impacts. 

A dilapidated outhouse at Carefree Acres hints its former homesite days

Along the way we scared up a ruffed grouse, and saw ample evidence of deer and elk using both properties.  Songbird houses have been installed too, since habitat restoration is about WAY MORE than just salmon!

Birdhouses made by volunteer Jack Middleton and decorated by local youth provide nesting habitat for a variety of birds at Carefree Acres