The Snohomish River Estuary is a valuable and critical ecological component in the life cycle of salmonid. Prior to European settlement, the intertidal wetlands and braided channels were immense. Agriculture was a major land use in the European settlement patterns, which incorporated earthen dikes to claim land for farming, grazing and other elements of commerce. As a result of these settlement patterns, the natural process that formed the historical landscape was altered. This resulted in the loss of estuarine habitat. Consequently, as the settlement patterns evolved and expanded, the loss of estuarine habitat resulted in the reduction of salmonid over time. This proposed habitat restoration project proposes to breach an existing dike, in three locations, along Union Slough (see attached map). This will allow approximately 100 acres of existing, non-native fresh water wetland area to return to its historical role as inter-tidal estuarine habitat. The portion of this project to which the requested funding will be applied is a US Army Corps 1135 Project. This project will restore needed critical estuarine habitat for rearing and migration of salmonid. This restoration of habitat is particularly critical for smolt production. An inner dike, protecting the City of Everetts sewage ponds (see attached map) will be restored to and maintained to US Army Corps standards assuring protection of this estuarine habitat during flood conditions.
