Skagit farmers, tribe to cooperate on restoring estuary for salmon

The conflict between salmon and farms around the Skagit River took a more cooperative turn today, when farmers and an Indian tribe announced they both would lobby for nearly 200 acres of state land to be converted back to tidal estuary.

The proposed deal is meant to end a lawsuit between the Swinomish Tribe and a Skagit County district that maintains dikes and tidegates that keep Puget Sound and the Skagit River from flooding farmland.

A federal judge in September found the district had violated the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act when it replaced several tidegates that keep saltwater and juvenile salmon from getting to areas historically flooded by high tides.

The Skagit River is the biggest producer of salmon in Puget Sound, and tidal estuaries are considered critical to young salmon that feed and grow there before heading to the open ocean.

"This is an important milestone both for salmon restoration and for agriculture in the Skagit delta," said Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Tribal chairman.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com