 
skagit land trust
Critical Habitat Protected as Wild and
Scenic River in Skagit County
Larsen, Murray and Dicks praised for
playing key role in appropriation
May 19, 2003 - Thanks to a partnership among Skagit Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy of Washington and the U.S. Forest Service, 595 acres of critical salmon habitat in the Skagit River basin have become part of the 158-mile Skagit Wild and Scenic Rivers System managed by the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The land, just east of Sedro-Woolley in Skagit County, includes most of Skiyou and Deadman Island, as well as shoreline and wetland habitat near Gilligan Creek in the Skagit watershed. The three parcels provide extensive coho salmon rearing areas, as well as habitat for deer, elk, river otters, bald eagles, waterfowl and amphibians.
The Forest Service purchased the properties from Skagit Land Trust earlier this month, thanks to a $960,000 appropriation from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Created by Congress in 1965, the LWCF allocates royalties paid by private companies for the privilege of developing offshore oil and gas resources to protect land and water for recreational uses, open space and wildlife habitat.
Skagit Land Trust, a local non-profit organization devoted to protecting Skagit County’s natural heritage, purchased the Skagit River parcels from Kimberly-Clark Corporation two years ago. The Nature Conservancy provided a partial bridge loan to the land trust until the $960,000 in LWCF were available to complete the transaction.
"This transaction is an excellent example of the way groups can collaborate to protect critical land and habitat," said Molly Doran, executive director of Skagit Land Trust. "The environmental health of our region has been made richer by this successful effort."
Both the Trust and Conservancy praised U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Lake Stevens), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Bremerton) for their strong support of the upper Skagit and for the key role they played in this particular appropriation. Last summer, the federal government reassigned the LWCF appropriation that had been allocated to the Skagit but not yet spent to fund fire-fighting efforts in the West. Larsen, Dicks and Murray played a critical role in restoring those funds to the Forest Service, thus making this addition to the Wild and Scenic River corridor possible. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) also strongly supported this effort.
"The state is fortunate to have congressional leaders who not only value our state’s remarkable natural heritage but who are also willing to work hard to see critical habitat protected," said David Weekes, the Conservancy’s state director.
The original transaction between Skagit Land Trust and Kimberly-Clark involved 900 acres of farmland and riparian habitat in the upper Skagit. The Trust decided that the prime agricultural lands, which were not within the Wild and Scenic corridor should remain in farming and will soon sell those to the private agricultural sector.
The Skagit is the second-largest watershed in the state and, by most accounts, the healthiest in the Puget Sound region. It supports the largest wild chum, pink and Chinook runs in the Puget Sound and the largest and healthiest bull trout population in the West. It’s also the only river in the Lower 48 that supports all five species of wild Pacific salmon.
Scientists studying regional salmon declines consider the Skagit the most important salmon-producing river in the Puget Sound and the best hope for recovery of the federally listed Puget Sound Chinook.
The Skagit also supports one of the largest congregations of wintering bald eagles in the
Lower 48. Some 500 eagles converge on the Skagit each winter, drawn by the abundant salmon.
The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has been managing the Skagit Wild and Scenic Rivers System since 1978. Besides the Skagit, the wild and scenic corridor includes portions of the Cascade, Sauk and Suiattle rivers.
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