The Skagit River Basin is the largest river system contributing to the Puget Sound trough (Burns, 1985). At its terminus with the Puget Sound, the river has migrated and contributed hydraulically with an extensive geomorphic delta that extends from Samish Bay in the North, to Port Susan in the South. Prior to European settlement, the Skagit delta was laced with wetlands and tidal channels (Figure 1). Within this landscape, large distributary channels provided a complex series of inter‐lin
kages between Samish, Padilla, and Skagit bays which, in part, provided migratory corridors and rearing habitats for a variety of aquatic species.
Swinomish Slough, connecting Skagit and Padilla Bays in Northern Puget Sound, was historically a significant migratory corridor for juvenile Skagit River Chinook salmon seeking rearing habitat in Padilla Bay. Historic accounts of this waterway span generations of local residents. Ranging from storied fishing grounds for tribal families to a focal point for modern
day commerce, the chronicles documenting the metamorphosis of this waterway provide both a testament to man’s ingenuity and the tragedy of ill‐conceived plans.
Decades of engineering have changed this waterway from a highly complex, braided deltaic distributary wetland to a simplified, yet efficient, navigation channel. In the process this conversion has changed the balance of nature, providing benefits to agriculture, transportation, recreation, and maritime commerce at the expense of certain species, in particular Pacific salmon, and the economies that depended on their success.
The objective of this report is to assess the feasibility of restoring connectivity of natural processes between the North Fork of the Skagit River and this historic distributary. This report recognizes that full connectivity at levels mimicking historic conditions are virtually impossible given the geomorphic changes induced to the system through decades of development. Nor can we expect historic connectivity in the context of our modern day reliance on this waterway for commerce and national security. However, we do explore the prospect of measured actions that seek to restore a level of hydraulic and geomorphic connections that work to the benefit of Pacific salmon.