Tribes deserve thanks for work to restore Blue Heron Slough

Published 1:30 am Monday, November 7, 2022

I woke up recently with the haze of wildfire smoke burning in my throat. It took the edge off a good start to the weekend.

Then I opened The Herald and read the article: “Puget Sound salmon habitat restored with tribes leading the way,” (The Herald, Oct. 12). It restored (no pun intended) my good mood.

Though it was not an easy fight, with some legal wrangling along the way, it has somehow given us this restoration project.

How good to know that the view from I-5 going north to Marysville will not be upscale condominiums and rows of ticky-tacky houses that all look just the same.

Many cities are developing land acknowledgement statements that recognize and respect Indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of this land. I hope that Mukilteo will formally establish its soon. It has been written with input from the Tribes and is a statement, beautiful in its’ simplicity, honoring the Snohomish people and the Tulalip Tribes.

Thank you to the Tribes and to all local, state and federal entities that are working together to meet salmon habitat needs as well as those of local agricultural groups. It is a spirit of cooperation that can only benefit all of us. Somehow, we lost that spirit in 2016. This project revives my hope that we can unite once again to solve differences and move projects like Blue Heron Slough forward.

Elaine Knapp

Mukilteo