Skagit Watershed Council

08/29/2026

Salmon Day is just TWO weeks away! 🐟✨

This extra special day at the Mount Vernon Farmer's Market brings together salmon, sparkles, free samples, and more!

Join us on Saturday, September 12th from 9am - 2pm for kid-friendly activities, live music, free glitter tattos, and lots of opportunities to engage with and learn from all of your favorite local conservation groups - including: Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Skagit Land Trust, Skagit Conservation District, Skagit River System Cooperative, Bats Northwest, the Center for Whale Research, and the WA Native Plant Society Salal Chapter

Visit our Facebook Event or skagitfisheries.org/event/salmon-day-at-the-market/ to learn more!

08/27/2026

The Skagit Watershed Council's mission is to "protect and restore sustainable fisheries in the Skagit Watershed," but what exactly are "fisheries"?

Fisheries are the populations of fish that we manage for food, recreation, and environmental stewardship. In the Skagit, for example, we have a Chinook fishery and a steelhead fishery, along with others.

08/19/2026

Did you know? There are over 3,000 miles of waterways in the Skagit Watershed, including the mainstems of the Skagit, Baker, Sauk, and Cascade rivers, 35 major tributaries, and hundreds of smaller creeks and streams.

Do you have a favorite creek in our watershed? Let us know in the comments!

08/13/2026

According to WDFW, there is potential for “the highest statewide coho catch in more than two decades” this year! Check out their article in Medium to learn all about the 2026 coho run.

A big Puget Sound coho forecast could help power ‘potential for the highest statewide coho catch in more than two decades.’

08/11/2026

Skagit Conservation District is welcoming new volunteers to their Stream Team!

Volunteers help collect and record water quality data in the field or help conduct testing in the lab once every four weeks October through June. You'll learn new skills such as water sampling and analytical techniques, network with local experts, meet new friends and participate in a citizen-science project with a 25+ year history. Training is held over 3 days: Tues Sept. 1 6 - 8:30 p.m., Thurs, Sept. 3, 6-8:30 p.m., and Sat Sept. 5, 9:00 a.m. To 1:00 p.m.

Sign up at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-AeVJrmqN0SxqClt9l_yrM8cEmNQNShGrfbq2hloVzBUMUQ5TE85VloyMzhFRTVHVlNUWUlUTERDOSQlQCN0PWcu for more info!

08/05/2026

We're nearing the end of our community-driven grant round process for 2026! Today, the Lead Entity Citizens Committee - which includes representatives from many interests, such as tribal, farmers, local governments, landowners, federal agencies, both dam operators in the basin, and environmental groups - confirmed their final rankings for the proposed projects.

These rankings are the culmination of months of work from those involved - from project site visits to Q&A sessions, reviews from State reviewers, and technical scoring from the Technical Review Committee - all to ensure a collaborative, science-based process.

The LECC's rankings will be sent to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board for final approval and will be made available to the public next month. We're excited to share more about these projects and the positive impact they will have in our watershed!

08/02/2026

Can you believe it's already August? Summer is going quickly, but there's still plenty of time to immerse yourself in our incredible watershed! Check out our community calendar to find all kinds of outdoor volunteer activities, family-friendly adventures, environmental learning opportunities, and more!

Visit skagitwatershed.org/events to browse this month's events from our community partners.

07/31/2026

There are many reasons why our Skagit is a special place for salmon, but what makes it special to YOU? This is the question we asked kids at Concrete Youth Activity Day this year - then they colored a salmon to represent their favorite thing about the place we call home. Swipe through the pictures to check out some of their answers!

In addition to these kids' clear appreciation for our natural environment, it was so inspiring to hear about their knowledge of salmon. They showed up at our booth with their salmon fun facts ready to go - some of them even had suggestions for additional information we should add to our board! 😄🐟

Concrete Youth Activity Day is one of our favorite events of the summer, and we're already looking forward to next year.

07/29/2026

The Canoe Journey is such an important cultural event! This past weekend, 37 canoe families from tribes throughout the region visited the Swinomish channel on their journey to Nisqually.

Tribal canoes arrive at the Cedar Hats on the Swinomish Channel on Saturday as part of the annual Canoe Journey. PHOTO BY NANCY K. CROWELL/LA CONNER COMMUNITY NEWS

07/21/2026

This article from the Puget Sound Partnership highlights several exciting multi-benefit salmon restoration projects across the region - including WDFW's Island Unit project, which is underway right here in the Skagit watershed!

The Island Unit project earned funding four times through the Lead Entity grant round (under the names Island Unit and Deepwater Slough), and we also supported its process through the PSAR Large Cap grant round. In addition to being a multi-benefit project for salmon, climate resilience, and our community as a whole, the project was made stronger with input from tribes and stakeholders - including diking and drainage interests, waterfowl hunters, and other environmental organizations. Protecting and restoring our watershed takes all of us working together.

How the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR) program helps salmon, ecosystems, and people adapt to changing conditions across the region.