In what we hope is not just a public relations move but a genuine commitment to our community’s well-being, the three powerful organizations sponsoring the Barnaby Reach project have declared their intention not to harm our community or put us at risk of increased flooding or erosion.

We are writing to you in response to your July 27, 2021 letter. We want all the signers of that letter to know that we care very much about community concerns and have no intention to pursue actions at the Barnaby Hatchery Complex that would harm the residential community or put you at risk for increased flooding and/or erosion.

In 2014 senior leaders of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Seattle City Light, The Nature Conservancy, together with their project developer, Skagit River System Cooperative, all formally endorsed an aggressive plan to build a mile-long, three hundred foot wide, ten foot deep, channel to divert a significant portion of the Skagit River diagonally across our valley into Barnaby Slough. This vision would set the stage for permanently changing the course of the Skagit River, right through our neighborhood community.

It was a frightening vision that ignored the geologic conditions of our area, disregarded the risks, especially the risks of unknown possible catastrophic events, and reeked with the kind of hubris common among people who believe they can control nature.

Fortunately, we have been able to provide information establishing the fact that our geography is highly susceptible to erosion and it would be impossible to effectively mitigate against all possible events that could destroy our community.

As work began this past summer to carry out the initial phase of the habitat project, we knew it was important to declare our community opposition to anything like the aggressive channeling idea. Over sixty of our rural neighbors and property owners came together to oppose active flow redirection into Barnaby Slough.

Very importantly, a large channel connection to the Skagit River is not part of any identified future phase of the project.

Since we don’t know what these powerful entities might come up with next, our clear position is that we oppose active flow redirection into Barnaby Slough, period. We’ll see what they come up with. We support improving salmon habitat as much as anyone, but it must be done in a way which respects the safety, security and well-being of our community.

Here is the main part of their letter.

November 5, 2021

Skagit Upriver Neighbors
RE: Response to July 27, 2021 letter

We are writing to you in response to your July 27, 2021 letter. We want all the signers of that letter to know that we care very much about community concerns and have no intention to pursue actions at the Barnaby Hatchery Complex that would harm the residential community or put you at risk for increased flooding and/or erosion.

We are pleased to read in your letter about your support for salmon recovery work in the Skagit River Watershed. Salmon recovery in the Skagit is our mission and the opportunities at the Barnaby Complex are enormous. We want to partner with the community in that effort so that we can all share in the joy when we see the results. We also appreciate the interest and support the community has shown before and during the Phase 1 construction this summer. With completion of Phase 1, we are excited to begin seeing improvements in fish use at the site.

Looking ahead, we also understand the concerns you describe around future phases, specifically “future actions that involve active flow redirection into the Barnaby Complex.” While we do want to consider whether additional restoration at the Barnaby site that re- introduces surface flow would be worthwhile – after a few years of monitoring – we will consider these ideas in a thoughtful manner that is based on careful analysis (including offsite impacts) and with an open and consistent conversation with the community.

Very importantly, a large channel connection to the Skagit River is not part of any identified future phase of the project. Your input has already shaped our approach to implementing restoration at the Barnaby Complex (see Attachment 1), and we hope that you continue to be willing to engage with us as we learn from the Phase 1 project and consider possible additional work.

Our work plan over the next year will be focused on completing Phase 1 construction, initiating post-construction monitoring, and beginning to evaluate Phase 1 project effectiveness. We would also like to offer field tours of the completed Phase 1 project to community members. We plan to start work on planning a Phase 2 project focused on the Harrison complex within the next year, we do not intend to conduct any work toward Phase 3 at this time. Next summer when it is hopefully safe to hold a large meeting, we hope to share what we are learning from the early monitoring results with the community and hear ab out your observations on the Phase 1 project.

In the meantime, we would love to get your advice on how to engage best with you. We are very open to ideas and appreciate your willingness to talk with us.