ARLINGTON — It takes a watershed to raise a clam.
In the 1980s, pollution in the Port Susan estuary was so bad that the state Department of Health closed the bay to the harvesting of shellfish. For years, little was done to clean it up.
On April 2, Port Susan will open again to licensed commercial shellfish harvest. The Stillaguamish Tribe, which gathered and provided the water quality data that resulted in the state’s certification of safety, was the first to apply for this opportunity.
Along the Stillaguamish River, improvements to city sewer plants and rural septic systems, manure management by farmers and the efforts of tribal governments and many volunteers have resulted in a cleaner Port Susan. The river, from a large watershed, empties into the marine bay.
With the help of the Tulalip Tribes, the Stillaguamish have permission to gather clams for subsistence and ceremonial purposes in about 1,800 acres of Port Susan shellfish beds. The beds, on privately owned beaches, will not be open to public harvesting.
“This is a great accomplishment for the people in the Stillaguamish River watershed,” said Shawn Yanity, fisheries manager for the Stillaguamish Tribe. “And this helps our tribe bring our culture back. Last year, we had a First Salmon Ceremony for the first time in many years. The opening of Port Susan gives us another opportunity that we haven’t had for ages, the ability to gather traditional food for our families and our ceremonies.”
Together, the state and the tribes manage the shellfish resource in the bay, said state environmental engineer Mark Toy.
The county, the health district, diking and conservation districts, volunteer and community groups, school kids and homeowners helped in the process of cleaning the water in the river and in the bay, Toy said.
The heyday of clamming in Port Susan was from about 1930 to 1960, and after that it steadily declined, said Don Klopfer, biologist for the tribe. The Stillaguamish Tribe had limited opportunities to harvest shellfish, so reopening the shellfish beds in Port Susan became a priority in the mid-1990s.
In 1998, the tribe began collecting samples of the water to determine and address the sources of fecal coliform contamination, said environmental manager Pat Stevenson.
The tribe shared its data with the Snohomish Health District, which investigated and corrected problems, such as failing septic systems and illegal sewer hookups.
In 2002, the state Department of Health got involved, processing the tribe’s water samples at its lab. In late 2007, the state determined the tribe’s data showed that the water in Port Susan had improved, Klopfer said.
The health department completed its sanitary survey report recently, finding that the most recent water samples passed the shellfish water quality safety standard.
Toy, of the state health department, warned that people have to keep up the effort to keep the river watershed and its estuary clean.
“The water quality has improved over time, but it could change back if we aren’t careful,” Toy said.
Nearly all of the shellfish beds to be reopened in April are owned privately by the Nature Conservancy, which manages the tidelands as the Port Susan Preserve.
“A lot of people cooperated and helped out to get this shellfish opening,” Klopfer said. “The tribe took the lead and herded everybody along.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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