From the Outgoing President
By David Beatty

I have served on the Board of Directors of the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group (SFEG) for ten years. For seven of those years, I served as Board president. I appreciate the confidence that the Board members had in my ability to fill this position. As I reflect on my years, initially as a volunteer, and later on the Board, I am impressed by the changes that the organization has undergone. Beginning about fifteen years ago, salmon habitat projects and salmon fry production projects were done by volunteers who found landowners willing to have projects done on their property. The volunteer designed the project, obtained the necessary permits and implemented the project with the assistance of fisheries biologists with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW).

These projects were funded by an allotment each Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (RFEG) received from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. The Board of Directors met monthly in a variety of locations and the organization's office was in a member's home. There were no formal committees. Most committee type meetings were done at a project site. Initially, a Board member paid the bills and balanced the accounts for each project. Later, we had an hourly employee do the accounting. As salmon license sales declined (the source of the WDFW dedicated funding to each RFEG), our funding decreased. Fortunately, the state initiated the Jobs for the Environment (JfE) Program to fund habitat projects. The SFEG was successful in obtaining JfE funding for a variety of habitat projects in the Skagit River, Samish River and Colony Creek Watersheds. With an expanded role for projects and the overhead, the SFEG was in a position to have an office in Mount Vernon where it continues to reside. It also meant hiring office staff, a project manager and a field crew plus purchasing a variety of pieces of field equipment. I remember our first piece of office equipment was a photocopier purchased years earlier. Now we needed file cabinets, computers, and other essential pieces of equipment to have a functioning office. Often a local business would donate a useful item. Over a period of years, many excellent projects were completed in the JfE program. In the latter 90s', SFEG had a key role in the establishment of the Skagit Watershed Council (SWC) which became the local lead entity in the state's Salmon Recovery Program funded through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). As the JfE program ended, the SFEG was in a position to compete for funding of habitat projects approved by the SWC and funded by the SRFB. The SFEG's devoted and talented staff has also been successful in receiving grants from federal agencies, local agencies, foundations and private donors to support its mission of salmon recovery through habitat restoration and protection and community education. The organization now has several standing committees including Education, Personnel, Fundraising and Project Review in order to implement its strategic plan that was developed in recent years. Throughout all these years, the foundation of the SFEG has been its core of dedicated community volunteers. They work with the Board (also volunteers each with special talents), Executive Director, Outreach Coordinator, Project Manager, Monitoring Coordinator and Field Crew in maintaining the key component of the organization; the importance of community participation in salmon recovery. The SFEG will continue to accomplish its role in salmon recovery as long as there are landowners willing to participate and a community, which places a high priority on healthy ecosystems. Again as I reflect back on my years with SFEG, I have witnessed enormous changes in the organization; in the response of the community to SFEG's mission, and most importantly that SFEG as a community based organization is making an important contribution to salmon recovery and will so in the future. This is my last column for The Redd. Unfortunately, a health problem and an intended move out of the SFEG area will prevent me from continuing on the Board. I thank all of you who have made my role with the SFEG so rewarding.