Watershed Management > Watershed Management Updates by WRIA > Lower Skagit-Samish/Upper Skagit
Lower Skagit-Samish/Upper Skagit - WRIA 03 and 04
Grants awarded through June 2010
$1,323,554
Background
The planning group wrote a draft watershed plan for the Samish Basin in December 2004. However, it was never finished or voted on by the planning group, which has disbanded. Even though the planning process was stopped, Ecology continues to support water resources management projects in the basins. Ecology allocated $100,000 to implement the Skagit River instream flow rule and another $136,500 for a USGS stream gaging project.
Instream flow status
Ecology continues to work with Skagit County and the local community to implement the amendment to the instream flow rule. Efforts in 2008 have focused on integrating land use planning with the water management framework in the rule. Skagit County and Ecology defined local and state implementing actions in an Inter-local Agreement relating to tracking and accounting for new water uses under the water reservations.
In June 2008, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community filed a petition under the Administrative Procedure Act challenging certain amendments to the instream flow rule. No hearing date has been set. Ecology and the Swinomish Tribe are presently working to develop a schedule for gathering and certifying the rule record.
Ecology will also be developing an instream flow rule for the Samish River basin, an independent drainage system in WRIA 03. Before watershed planning in WRIAs 03 and 04 ended, instream flow work and planning focused on the Samish basin. The planning group completed a considerable amount of work on instream flows, but was unable to reach consensus on the flow levels or develop a final watershed management plan. Once the legal issues on the Skagit River rule are resolved, Ecology will proceed with rule making, using the technical work completed by the planning group.
Information on the Skagit Instream Resources Protection Program rule
Outside links,
publications, studies, data
Please send additions or corrections to Chris Anderson, (360) 407-6634.
