~Deepwater Slough Project~
Deepwater Slough Project
Project Partners: Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Skagit River Systems Cooperative
Project Cost: $ 32,161
Project Summary: Deepwater Slough is located in the Skagit Wildlife Area of the Skagit River Delta. Dikes that had been put in the distributary channels of the region had isolated salmon habitat and resulted in significant habitat loss to the tidal wetlands. The Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) reports that 94% of the Skagit historic delta’s scrub-shrub habitat has been lost. In an effort to reclaim and restore some 230 acres of this habitat, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Skagit River System Cooperative removed some of the dikes in 2000 in order to promote tidal flushing and provide salmonid access to habitats that had been isolated. With a grant provided by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group (SFEG) has partnered on the project, in an effort to restore the land to its natural state. SFEG’s restoration focus has been to remove invasive plant species and to re-establish the dominant scrub-shrub plant, sweetgale, through planting activities. Invasives that are being controlled include blackberry, scotch broom, and purple loosestrife. In 2003, SFEG planted several hundred sweet gale in three distinct planting situations. The first plantings were installed in level ground; the second plantings were installed on soil mounds; and a third group was installed in pieces of large woody debris. The SRSC is currently evaluating planting success. During the 2004/05 planting season, SFEG will use these results to install many more sweet gale plants at the Deepwater Slough restoration site. Monitoring and research by the Skagit River System Cooperative at the site has been ongoing, and early results have been encouraging. Their research has shown that, since the removal of the dikes, old tidal channels have been reconnected, new channels have formed, channels are widening, and the tides are once again flowing over the marsh, opening up more habitat for fish. In addition, the tidal flooding of this area has naturally discouraged invasive plants and has encouraged colonization by native species. SFEG’s invasive species control and native species planting has helped the restoration process, and as time goes on, it is expected that the area will function more and more like its original state, with all associated benefits to the fish and wildlife that will use the area.
