Snohomish County tries to reconcile restoring salmon habitat, preserving farmland

SMITH ISLAND, Snohomish County — When Dr. Henry Smith paddled the mouth of the Snohomish River in 1863, he found thousands of acres of freshwater tidelands and low-lying prairies that he said could "easily be reclaimed by ditching."

In fact, settlers had already named the area New Holland, he noted, and expected it to become "the garden spot of the territory in a few years."

Today, the island bearing Smith's name is neither garden spot nor undisturbed shoreline. It's bisected by Interstate 5, and to the west lies some of Everett's working riverfront — a timber mill, a huge marina and two sand-and-gravel operations.

But on the island's grassy east side, the county plans a $13 million wetland- and shoreline-restoration project that would remove the perimeter dikes that once protected low-lying farmland and return it to tidal marsh, wandering channels and the native vegetation that shelters juvenile chinook salmon.

When the chinook were listed as endangered in 1999, Smith Island, with its 500 acres of largely abandoned farmland, was identified as the No. 1 priority for salmon-habitat restoration in the Snohomish River watershed. Upon completion, the project would become one of the largest estuary restorations in the state.

But the effort has run into opposition from farmers, and in September the county's Agricultural Advisory Board adopted recommendations that call for the protection and enhancement of agricultural lands. While the guidelines developed by the board are not binding, they recommend no farmland be lost and that projects that impact farmland — such as Smith Island shoreline restoration — be offset by improvements to agriculture.

At Smith Island, this means that the existing dike will be torn down as planned, but a new dike will have to be built to protect about 80 acres of farmland, even though only 55 acres are currently being used as a tree farm, and that operation is being relocated and the land offered for sale.

The new dike is the most expensive part of the project, estimated to cost about $9 million. County officials say they would have had to build a new dike anyway, to protect Interstate 5 from tidal currents and floods once the existing dike is breached.

But County Council members and environmentalists say that county planning officials are treating the guidelines as land-use rules. They say permits for the Smith Island restoration project are being held up and about $1.5 million in state funds jeopardized in order to ensure that some agricultural land is preserved, even though most of it hasn't been actively farmed for years.

"The county is implementing a policy that's never been passed by the council and has had absolutely no public discussion," said Council Chairman Dave Somers, a former fisheries biologist.

New priority for farms

Protecting farmland and a healthy farm economy has been a priority for Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. Two years ago, he revived the county Agricultural Advisory Board and directed county planning staff to send to the board, for review, all projects that appear to take agricultural land out of production.

"By preserving farmland, we help secure the future of scenic open spaces and fresh, healthy, locally grown foods," Reardon said.

Farmers say preserving farmland is as important a goal as protecting salmon. They also emphasize that the Agricultural Advisory Board has no veto power over pending projects.

But the board has recommended that applicants show why their project can't be built on public land, rather than land zoned for agriculture. If applicants can't find an alternative site, the board has directed them to include some benefit to agriculture within the project.

County officials say the new dike on Smith Island meets those goals by providing more protection for the remaining farmland than did the existing, century-old dike.

"If there's an opportunity to create habitat and benefit farmers, I'm all for it. But to create habitat at the expense of farmers, I'll never agree to that," said Dave Remlinger, chair of the Agricultural Advisory Board.

Some believe the efforts to preserve farmland and salmon habitat are bound to be at odds.

Will Hall, a former county planner who now is a policy adviser to the County Council, said that salmon restoration will inevitably impact agricultural land because the county's most fertile farmland is in the flood plains of its largest rivers.

"The rivers salmon depend on run through farms," he said.

Richard Harnden, owner of Harnden Tree Farms, has operated a part of his business on 55 acres of Smith Island for the past 20 years. He is moving the nursery to Snohomish and has said he is willing to sell his land to the county.

But Harnden said he supports the agricultural community's efforts to preserve some Smith Island land for farming.

"Good farmland is getting scarcer," he said. "The land is zoned for agriculture, and now that's what it will get used for."

Another island debated

Another project, on Leque Island in the mouth of the Stillaguamish River, also has been delayed as participants address the county's concerns that salmon-restoration projects not result in lost farmland. The project calls for removing dikes and tide gates, restoring about 105 acres of intertidal estuaries, and managing an additional 145 acres as freshwater habitat for waterfowl and hunting. About 100 acres would be preserved for agriculture.

The project was ranked the No. 1 priority for the Stillaguamish watershed in state salmon-recovery plans.

But during a recent tour of the island, members of the Agricultural Advisory Board said they were concerned about converting any land to salmon or wildlife habitat.

John Garrett, a biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which owns Leque Island, said the agency has long tried to find farmers willing to work the land. He said access is poor and the ground wet.

"There's been a huge lack of interest from local farmers to farm the site."

Pat Stevenson, environmental manager for the Stillaguamish Tribe, another partner on the Leque Island project, said he was frustrated by the additional delay.

"We haven't fished for chinook since 1980. We want to get this project done."

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305