by Emily Howe, TNC Aquatic Ecologist
On Thursday, May 18th, we had the honor of welcoming Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves to The Nature Conservancy’s Port Susan Bay Preserve and the Stillaguamish Tribe’s adjacent zis a ba II restoration site. We were accompanied by our friends and partners from the Stillaguamish and Tulalip Tribes, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Congressman Rick Larsen’s office, all of whom have been working for decades to recover salmon through habitat restoration, protection, and policy. The Stillaguamish restoration sites are part of a $24 million project package funded by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that will move 23 projects forward across the whole of the Whidbey Basin, which includes the Skagit, Stillaguamish, and Snohomish Rivers. The nine contributing partners to the project represent a long history of collaboration and commitment to place—two intangibles in the recipe that makes transformational restoration work possible.
BIL funding will help TNC and the Stillaguamish Tribe restore over 400 acres of estuarine tidal wetlands and sloughs at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. The projects will work together as one continuous marsh; setting back levees and carving a network of tidal channels to restore critical habitat for endangered juvenile Chinook salmon. The Stillaguamish work is particularly critical, as Stillaguamish Chinook are the weakest stock of the endangered Puget Sound Chinook population. TNC has owned and managed nearly 4,000 acres of estuarine habitat at the Port Susan Bay Preserve since 2001 and continually works with partners throughout the basin to advance salmon recovery, migratory bird, and floodplain projects that benefit people and nature.
Amber Parmenter and Emily Howe with TNC talk to Deputy Secretary Don Graves on a walk along the pathway at Port Susan Bay. Credit: TNC
The site visit was a celebration and moment of gratitude for the restoration work this group of practitioners has continued to move forward, for the influx of federal funding to support Washington’s natural infrastructure, for the hope of future salmon runs, and for the support we give one another to recover the ecosystems and species that sustain us. It was like a family reunion - there were hugs, jokes, lightness and much laughter. It was simply wonderful to be surrounded by such a wealth of support for our collective work and gratitude for what we are all trying to do together.
Partners discuss ongoing restoration efforts with a view of zis-a-ba II in the background. Credit: TNC
But it was also a moment of emotional reckoning. As our tribal partners reminded us—this work is only necessary because of colonialization, which left a trail of broken treaty promises and broken landscapes in its wake. In the Stillaguamish, habitat destruction and degradation have brought Chinook populations to the brink of extinction, with far-reaching implications for the Pacific salmon fishery as a whole, as well as for the Stillaguamish people and their culture. Many members of the Stillaguamish Tribe have never been able to even taste a local Chinook from their river.
While many of us may think about rivers and water as a vitally important form of infrastructure—delivering key ecosystem services and benefits to people that are worth investing in—Tulalip Tribal Vice Chairman, Misty Napeahi offered this translation for how she and her ancestors think about the river, “the river is our veins, and the estuary our kidney.” She emphasized that we are intertwined with the river as one being, not separate from it. It was a cautionary message, that when the river begins to fail, so too does our own survival.
Misty reminded us that restoring an estuary at the margins of the land and sea is also a step towards healing broken treaty promises. It will take continued partnership and work along the whole of the river’s veins, from the snowcaps to the white caps- to breathe life back into the system.
From left to right: Amber Parmenter (TNC), Deputy Secretary Don Graves (Department of Commerce), Jay Krienitz (WDFW), Samuel Davis (Tulalip Tribes), Brett Shattuck (Tulalip Tribes), Jason Griffith (Stillaguamish Tribe), Emily Howe (TNC), Chuck Stambaugh-Bowey (WDFW), Laurel Jennings (NOAA RC), Jen Steger (NOAA RC), Ryan Casey (Rep. Larsen, WA-02), Chris Dingle (Rep. Larsen, WA-02), Misty Napeahi (Tulalip Tribes), Garret Engelke (NOAA RC), Sara Thitipraserth (Stillaguamish Tribe), Kadi Bizyayeva (Stillaguamish Tribe), and Bob Carey, (TNC). Photo credit: Deputy Secretary Don Graves
The day ended with Stillaguamish Tribal leaders, Kadi Bizyayeva and Sara Thitipraserth thanking and recognizing Deputy Secretary Don Graves for honoring their people and investing in restoration and recovery of their ancestral lands.
In the words of Jennifer Steger, Pacific Regional Manager for NOAA’s Fisheries Restoration Center, “The truths spoken by the Stillaguamish and Tulalip Tribes will stay with him and the voices and actions of our collective work will inspire him to help advance the habitat restoration and community resilience aspects of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).”
Feature image: Deputy Secretary Don Graves takes a selfie with the partners and visitors at Port Susan Bay.
