Wiley Slough Restoration Project

The Wiley Slough Restoration Project is a collaboration between the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Skagit Watershed Council, and Skagit River System Cooperative, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private interests including Ducks Unlimited and Washington Waterfowl Association. The intent of this partnership is to develop a design for restoring an historic tidal and riverine system, thereby benefiting the diversity of fish and wildlife species that rely on estuaries, including salmon and a wide variety of migratory birds.

The intention is to rehabilitate natural processes at the Wiley Slough site that will be largely self-sustaining and in turn will support natural fish, wildlife, and vegetative communities common to estuarine habitats in Puget Sound. To this end, the design approach focuses on restoring important physical processes (tidal and riverine flooding). The project will be designed in a way that protects interests of adjacent landowners, promotes wildlife oriented recreational activities consistent with the restoration objectives, and considers the perspectives of stakeholders affected by the project. SFEG recently received $16,000 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to assist with the collection of baseline monitoring data at Wiley Slough.

You can learn more about the Wiley Slough Restoration Project at one of several scheduled field trips led by the Wiley Slough Work Group April 14, May 12, June 19, or July 14. For more information on, go to www.wileyslough.org or call the Skagit Watershed Council at 360-419-9326.