Illabot Creek is a small waterway in the Skagit River watershed, but its value to the ecosystem is out of proportion to its size.
“I think what’s most special about Illabot Creek is just the inordinate number of salmon and trout that spawn in that creek,” said Bob Carey, director of strategic partnerships for the Nature Conservancy in Washington.
Illabot Creek, which flows into the Skagit River west of Marblemount, was designated as a Wild and Scenic River late in 2014. It was part of a package that designated a number of areas for protection, including an expansion of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.
Advocates for protecting the Skagit watershed have long wanted Illabot Creek to have protections. Wendy McDermott, American Rivers associate director for conservation in the state, says Illabot Creek is “the missing link to the Skagit Wild and Scenic River system.”
With this new designation, the river is now protected along nearly its entire length. The creek begins at Snow King Mountain at 7,500 feet and drops down to the Skagit River at 500 feet above sea level. With the Wild and Scenic designation, which covers 14.3 miles, the creek connects the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area with the Skagit Wild and Scenic River system. The lands around the creek previously had protection, but the new designation also ensures protections for the creek itself. It also ensure the creek will remain free-flowing.
The creek itself is rather remote, and not many people use the creek itself for recreation. Instead, its benefit is how it supports recreational opportunities in the area.
The creek helps support populations of salmon and other fish. It is important spawning area for wild Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout, all federally listed as threatened, as well as pink, coho, sockeye and chum salmon.
Those species, in turn, support populations of dozens of species of wildlife, Carey said.
Among those species are bald eagles. The Skagit supports the largest population of bald eagles in the lower 48. Many people come to the river to see the eagles, and the month of January is devoted to the Skagit Eagle Festival.
The fish themselves are also a draw for fly fishers and anglers.
Bruce Freet, president of Fidalgo Fly Fishers, says Illabot Creeks supports many species that fishermen would enjoy catching, including bull trout, chum salmon and coho.
Increasing the fish populations should give fishers more opportunities to do what they enjoy.
“It’s that feeling and the thrill that you tied a fly that fooled a fish,” Freet said. “It’s always a thrill to have the fish hooked and to have the fish jump out of the water.”
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