First off I’m no EXPORT on the Skagit! I was born in Mt. Vernon and a Member of Skagit Watershed Council. I’ve been working with WDFW Marblemount Hatchery for 4 years now.

SWC just received grants (from SRFB) to help out with estuarine habitat issues which will help out all Salmonids on there way out to sea.

For the last 2 years there only been 4 release sites (for Steelhead) on the Skagit System. And they have been using “volitional release mechanism” at each site for over 4 years on those sites.

If only people would ask WDFW Marblemount Hatchery Manager Question there wouldn’t be all this confusion around there methods.

The Barnaby Slough Rearing ponds where a joke when we visited them in November; 18 inches of muck with 2 foot of grass on top of the muck where though out the rearing pond it self. These ponds need to be clean out each year not every ten years. Hatchery workers contacted four different organizations in the Skagit Valley for help with the clean up but they didn’t have schedule to maintain the facilities year after year so no money was granted from three of the organization.

More later!