We support Peter Browning for re-election to the Skagit County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Browning has demonstrated strong leadership on Skagit Valley environmental safety matters of great concern to us, notably in securing a flood protection agreement from Seattle City Light. As this article notes, Browning’s opponent Richard Brocksmith was, “the only elected official in
READ MOREThis community letter from over 100 landowners, farmers, business owners and residents of eastern Skagit County declares our community’s complete opposition to any diversion or redirection of the Skagit River and/or the Illabot Creek into the Barnaby/Harrison Complex. Thank you to our many upriver neighbors for your support. EXHIBIT A EXHIBIT B
READ MORETwo high risk habitat projects are now going on upstream of our Rockport neighborhood community. One is called the Barnaby Reach project, the other is called the O’Brian. O’Brian is in a study phase managed by WSDOT. We’ve become increasingly concerned because these two projects together represent considerable risk to our community. Here is our
READ MORESeattle City Light has been an 800-ton gorilla recklessly throwing its weight around our valley for a long time. In 2014 City Light advanced an extremely dangerous initiative to divert the Skagit River directly toward our neighborhood through Barnaby Slough. And now it’s partially funding and providing study, political influence, and science support for a
READ MOREA contingent of concerned citizens including farmers, tribal leaders, Skagit County government leaders and others interested in preserving agricultural land, protecting our communities from flooding, and providing salmon with access to the 37% of the Skagit that exists above the dams, descended on the Seattle City Council chambers this morning, along with King5 News, to
READ MORETribal leaders together with Skagit County leaders have been pushing the City of Seattle and its electric utility department to commit to building fish passage at its dams to provide salmon with access to the 37% of the Skagit River upstream of the dams. Here is an excellent panel discussion that aims to educate folks
READ MORESeattle City Light and its sponsoring partners of the Barnaby Reach Project have begun work dismantling old hatchery infrastructure in the vicinity of Barnaby Slough. We are not opposing this work, and as we’ve repeatedly made clear, we support fisheries resource recovery. However, it’s evident to us that Seattle City Light and the other sponsors
READ MOREAs part of its research work in support of the Barnaby Reach Project, the consulting firm Natural Systems Design studied water levels in the Skagit and Sauk Rivers and within the project area under flood conditions. By measuring water levels at various points, they developed models of what future floods might look like. Measurements from
READ MOREHere are two images of the same Skagit Upriver area, one showing what we’d see flying overhead and the other what we’d see if all the trees and other vegetation was removed. The second image was produced using Lidar a technology which reveals the actual ground elevations of the area. We can see in the
READ MOREBy Lisa Fenley and Dave Hallock Rockport neighbors have offered insightful views, concerns and perspectives on a proposed project intended to improve Martin Road drainage. Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) submitted a “pre-approval” application on February 16, 2018, for funding a project to replace culverts on Martin Road. Neighbors are generally supportive of the project
READ MORE