EVERETT — The state’s Department of Natural Resources removed on Tuesday a derelict barge from Spencer Island Estuary. The removal was done in partnership with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is working on a broader restoration project on and surrounding Spencer Island.
During high tide, a contracted crew lifted the barge out of the estuary with a crane, Communications Director Zoe Love wrote in an email on Wednesday. The barge will be disposed of in Everett.
The department often uses Derelict Vessel Removal Program funds for projects like these, Love said, but because the barge had no motor, it didn’t qualify for the funding. Instead, the removal was supported in part by DNR’s Watershed Resilience Action Plan — a 10-year, county-wide salmon and watershed restoration strategy.
“WRAP has funded significant salmon restoration in the Snohomish Basin, including protecting nearshore kelp and eelgrass habitat, establishing an acidification monitoring station, and removing over a dozen derelict vessels with local partners,” Love said. “WRAP was not funded for the upcoming biennium, so this project is a great way to use remaining funds to improve salmon habitat in the Snohomish Basin.”
(Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
The removal also assists Fish and Wildlife’s upcoming efforts to restore the island and surrounding estuary for salmon habitat.
Spencer Island was diked in the early 1900s, but restoration projects are slowly chipping away at undoing the aged infrastructure. In 1989, Snohomish County and Fish and Wildlife co-acquired the property, with the county owning 240 acres on the south end of the island and WDFW owning the northern 174 acres.
“For several years, WDFW has been working closely with Snohomish County, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other local partners to plan for extensive estuary habitat restoration at Spencer Island, including further reconnecting the island’s interior marsh with the lower Snohomish River and intertidal estuary,” agency Communications Manager Chase Gunnell wrote in an email on Thursday. “Removing the derelict barge is an important step in preparing for this Spencer Island Restoration Project.”
The department plans to share updates on the final restoration project design later in 2025, agency Communications Manager Chase Gunnell wrote in an email on Thursday.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
(Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
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