by Emily Howe, TNC Aquatic Ecologist
On Thursday, Might 18th, we had the glory of welcoming Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves to The Nature Conservancy’s Port Susan Bay Protect and the Stillaguamish Tribe’s adjoining zis a ba II restoration web site. We had been accompanied by our pals and companions from the Stillaguamish and Tulalip Tribes, the Nationwide Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Washington Division of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Congressman Rick Larsen’s workplace, all of whom have been working for many years to get better salmon via habitat restoration, safety, and coverage. The Stillaguamish restoration websites are a part of a $24 million mission bundle funded by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL) that can transfer 23 initiatives ahead throughout the entire of the Whidbey Basin, which incorporates the Skagit, Stillaguamish, and Snohomish Rivers. The 9 contributing companions to the mission signify a protracted historical past of collaboration and dedication to position—two intangibles within the recipe that makes transformational restoration work doable.
BIL funding will assist TNC and the Stillaguamish Tribe restore over 400 acres of estuarine tidal wetlands and sloughs on the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. The initiatives will work collectively as one steady marsh; setting again levees and carving a community of tidal channels to revive vital habitat for endangered juvenile Chinook salmon. The Stillaguamish work is especially vital, as Stillaguamish Chinook are the weakest inventory of the endangered Puget Sound Chinook inhabitants. TNC has owned and managed practically 4,000 acres of estuarine habitat on the Port Susan Bay Protect since 2001 and frequently works with companions all through the basin to advance salmon restoration, migratory hen, and floodplain initiatives that profit folks and nature.
