Check out this 'hot news flash' from the Washington Waterfowl Association regarding the Director of WDFW approving a plan for the Skagit Headquarters area that was approved with no public hearings or opinions!!
Quoted from the Washington Waterfowl Association:
"SKAGIT WILDLIFE AREA HEADQUARTERS TO BE FLOODED - RECREATIONAL ACCESS REDUCED
• The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) developed a Technical Design Report for intertidal restoration that will include removing the dikes that protect the entire Headquarters Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area (this does not include the “farmed-island” segment). This project is referred to as the WILEY SLOUGH RESTORATION PROJECT. The Technical Design Report was submitted to the Director of the WDFW without public review and was approved by the Director, without public hearings or WDFW Commission approval, within approximately one month of completion of the Report. The design process was so focused that no alternatives were considered other than total inundation of the entire Headquarters Unit, and public use and concerns were not addressed.
• This proposed project will result in:
• Daily tidal flooding of all the fields that make up the Headquarters Unit;
• Elimination of all farming on this unit;
• Elimination of the dike-top loop trail;
• A significant reduction in public accessibility, including access for the disabled;
• Elimination of the pheasant release program; and
• Reduction in waterfowl management capabilities.
• The Wiley Slough Restoration Project will provide increased estuarine rearing habitat, primarily for Chinook and chum salmon in an area immediately adjacent to a large estuarine restoration project (called the Deepwater Slough Project), the effectiveness of which is yet to be determined.
• Half of the funding for the proposed project has already been provided by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). Work will likely begin on the project within two to three years of obtaining all the funding.
• Partners for this design process include the WDFW, the Skagit tribes, and the Skagit Watershed Council.
EFFECT ON WATERFOWL AND OTHER WILDLIFE
• Currently the headquarters unit combines with the farmed-island segment to form an important waterfowl management area. In the 1980s waterfowl were at all time low population numbers. A series of waterfowl management areas were established in the area at that time and have been maintained by the WDFW to distribute waterfowl across our area and to provide public access. Since the 1980s waterfowl populations have rebounded. Large portions of the farmed island and headquarters are now planted in grain to provide feed for waterfowl wintering in the area. The Wiley Slough Restoration Project would eliminate farming at headquarters. Freshwater wetland and upland habitats for nesting waterfowl and for many species of hawks, owls, songbirds, and small mammals will be lost.
• No documentation has been made of the effects of the proposed project on the wildlife that current use the Headquarters Unit.
• There is no plan to replace the lost functions of the Headquarters Unit.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The Washington Waterfowl Association is fighting to stop this project, save a portion of the Headquarters Unit, and/or get the WDFW to purchase nearby replacement lands. Please help us by:
• Calling, writing or e-mailing your State Representatives and Senator as well as those in your District. Call the Washington Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or go to the Washington Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or
www.leg.wa.gov to get phone numbers and e-mail addresses of your legislators.
• Calling the WDFW Wildlife Commission at 1-360-902-2267 and voice your opinion.
• Contacting the WDFW Wildlife Commission at
www.wdfw.wa.gov to voice your opinion.
• Telling your friends and neighbors.
• To get more information read the back of this sheet or contact the Washington Waterfowl Association at 360-629-4213, or
www.waduck.org.
More Details
The Skagit Wildlife Area Headquarters and some nearby access areas were purchased by and donated to the State of Washington Department of Game in the 1940s. The farmed island segment was added after the flood of 1953 destroyed a bridge to the island and the farmers sold the land to the Department of Game. The Smith Farm on Leque Island was purchased by the Department in 1976 and added to the Skagit Wildlife Area. The Sammish Unit, the rest of Leque Island, the Fir Island Snow Goose Reserve, the Johnson/Debay Swan Reserve and related hunting access areas were added in the 1990s. Several intertidal parcels in Skagit Bay have also added to the wildlife area over the years.
While some hunting areas have been added to the Skagit Wildlife Area over the years, recent fish habitat restoration projects and lack of maintenance are reducing the area that is readily accessible for recreational activities. In the late 1990s, the Washington Waterfowl Association worked hard to save the farmed island from being flooded as part of a fish habitat restoration project. The dikes on Leque Island are proposed to be set back considerably which means access at Leque Island will be reduced and the pheasant release program there will be eliminated. The dikes along portions of the farmed island are also dangerously close to failure, but maintenance funding has not been available for any of these areas. A current agreement between the WDFW and the Skagit System Cooperative (Tribes) prevents emergency repairs if a poorly maintained dike fails on the farmed island. Thus, it is likely that when the dikes fail on the farmed island, they will not be repaired quickly and are unlikely to be repaired at all, throwing away several million dollars of restoration dollars recently spent during the Deepwater Slough intertidal restoration project.
The “headquarters” unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area is currently the target for another fish habitat restoration project known as the “Wiley Slough Restoration Project”. Since late 2001 the Skagit Watershed Council, Seattle City Light, Skagit Systems Co-operative and the WDFW have been planning to inundate the headquarters area. Director Koenings of the WDFW has publicly stated that state land will be used for fish habitat restoration in keeping with the Endangered Species Act. The restoration design includes REMOVAL OF ALL PERIMETER DIKES allowing intertidal flooding back to the original dikes. This means NO farmed areas at headquarters for planting grain used for waterfowl management, no pheasant release program, and very limited access for recreational activities such as bird watching, jogging, dog walking, bike riding, hiking etc. There are no plans or funds to buy, develop and maintain other land to replace the ecological and public access functions that will be lost as a result of this project.
For over two generations the Skagit Wildlife Area headquarters unit has been used for waterfowl habitat management, hunting access, bird watching access, and other recreational activities. To remove this area from its current public uses eliminates a much needed and very rare public service. We the citizens of Washington State own this land, it’s paid for by the taxpayer, and the WDFW is paid for by the taxpayers. What happens to public land ought to be decided by the public, not a select few individuals and special interest groups!"
