Thinking Big: An Assessment of 22 Estuarine Restoration Concepts to Achieve Net Gain for Fish, Floods and Farms in the Skagit Delta
Presentation Abstract
Estuary restoration is a critical piece to the salmon recovery puzzle. In the Skagit River, where salmon are a cornerstone of tribal culture and economy, it is estimated that an additional 2,700 acres of estuary habitat is needed for a sustainable Chinook population. The delta also supports a strong agricultural economy and community that faces risks from floods and aging flood/drainage infrastructure. Climate change is further anticipated to impact estuarine habitat, agriculture, and flooding. As with many places in the Salish Sea, the Skagit Delta land base is limited; key stakeholders have formed a partnership under the Farms, Fish and Floods Initiative (3FI) to help craft a long term vision for salmon recovery, reduced flood risk, and agriculture viability.
One project that contributes to 3FI’s work is the Skagit Delta Hydrodynamic Model Project. This project is a landscape-scale assessment with the goal of developing a suite of well-supported actions to achieve long-term viability of Chinook salmon and community flood risk reduction in a manner that protects and enhances agriculture and drainage. Representatives from each interest developed a suite of objectives against which individual or groups of restoration concepts could be measured to identify those that have the greatest potential to provide multiple benefits. The objectives require hydrodynamic modeling, estimates of habitat connectivity and smolt production, predictions of sediment transport processes, GIS calculations, and use of local flood knowledge. Having each interest group identify their objectives is key to ensuring that the results are meaningful.
In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the assessment, objects, and initial results and how climate change and cumulative impacts are being considered. We will also discuss our communications with local agriculture, flood and restoration groups to ensure the process reflects local values and knowledge, and the suite of prioritized restoration concepts are well-supported.
Session Title
Toward Coordinated Resilience Planning Where People and Ecosystems are Being Squeezed by Climate Change
Conference Track
Protection, Remediation and Restoration
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Chinook salmon--Habitat--Washington (State)--Skagit River Watershed (B.C. and Wash.); Hydrologic models--Skagit River Watershed (B.C. and Wash.); Flood forecasting--Skagit River Watershed (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Skagit River Watershed (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Thinking Big: An Assessment of 22 Estuarine Restoration Concepts to Achieve Net Gain for Fish, Floods and Farms in the Skagit Delta
2016SSEC
Estuary restoration is a critical piece to the salmon recovery puzzle. In the Skagit River, where salmon are a cornerstone of tribal culture and economy, it is estimated that an additional 2,700 acres of estuary habitat is needed for a sustainable Chinook population. The delta also supports a strong agricultural economy and community that faces risks from floods and aging flood/drainage infrastructure. Climate change is further anticipated to impact estuarine habitat, agriculture, and flooding. As with many places in the Salish Sea, the Skagit Delta land base is limited; key stakeholders have formed a partnership under the Farms, Fish and Floods Initiative (3FI) to help craft a long term vision for salmon recovery, reduced flood risk, and agriculture viability.
One project that contributes to 3FI’s work is the Skagit Delta Hydrodynamic Model Project. This project is a landscape-scale assessment with the goal of developing a suite of well-supported actions to achieve long-term viability of Chinook salmon and community flood risk reduction in a manner that protects and enhances agriculture and drainage. Representatives from each interest developed a suite of objectives against which individual or groups of restoration concepts could be measured to identify those that have the greatest potential to provide multiple benefits. The objectives require hydrodynamic modeling, estimates of habitat connectivity and smolt production, predictions of sediment transport processes, GIS calculations, and use of local flood knowledge. Having each interest group identify their objectives is key to ensuring that the results are meaningful.
In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the assessment, objects, and initial results and how climate change and cumulative impacts are being considered. We will also discuss our communications with local agriculture, flood and restoration groups to ensure the process reflects local values and knowledge, and the suite of prioritized restoration concepts are well-supported.
