The Skykomish River is the No. 4 most at-risk river in America, a national environmental group announced Tuesday.
Washington D.C.-based American Rivers believes the river is healthy, but is in danger of being overrun by growth if Snohomish County doesn’t act to save it from development in the wrong places.
The environmental group is “shining a national spotlight on this one river,” said Amy Souers Kober, a spokeswoman for American Rivers, which has been publishing a top 10 list of at-risk rivers for 20 years. “There really aren’t that many rivers like the Skykomish left.”
This is the first time the Skykomish has been listed, and it’s the only river listed in Washington state this year, though others have been on the list previously.
The Skykomish was targeted because Snohomish County is preparing to adopt two umbrella environmental regulations that will go a long way toward deciding whether the river can continue to support its strong salmon runs.
Michael V. Martina / The Herald
The first is the 10-year update to the county’s comprehensive plan, a draft of which was released this week. The second is the county’s critical-areas ordinance, a set of rules regulating development on ecologically sensitive spots such as wetlands, creeks and slopes.
Environmentalists fear the Snohomish County Council will use those rules to open up vast tracts of land from Monroe to Index for development, putting the Skykomish in jeopardy.
County Council members did not comment on the Skykomish’s listing Tuesday, saying they hadn’t seen it.
“It’s 1:30 p.m., and (we haven’t) seen this yet,” said Jennifer Holder, Councilman Jeff Sax’s legislative aide. “It’s not fair.”
River basin growing
The Skykomish River drains the southeast corner of Snohomish County. Its tributaries include the Sultan, Wallace, Beckler and Rapid rivers.
The 2000 Census found that the watershed is home to nearly 30,000 people, with most having moved there in recent decades, a computer analysis by The Herald found.
Since 1975, nearly 6,000 new houses and mobile homes have been built in the area – 63 percent of all the homes in the Skykomish River watershed. Nearly a quarter of the homes were built in the last decade.
An analysis of records maintained by the state Department of Ecology shows that almost half the 1,966 wells recorded in the watershed have been drilled since 1995.
Looking ahead, Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar, Index and the surrounding areas are scheduled to get their fair share of the 285,000 new people who are projected in Snohomish County by 2025.
Population estimates for the Skykomish watershed aren’t available, but population projections in the county’s 10-year comprehensive plan update show Monroe growing by 64 percent, Sultan by 161 percent, Gold Bar by 42 percent and Index by 19 percent.
River’s health
The Skykomish River is the healthiest major river in Snohomish County, river experts say, adding that the Snoqualmie, Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers are in worse shape.
“I think there are other water bodies that have more problems,” said Ralph Svrjcek, a water cleanup specialist for the state Department of Ecology.
Svrjcek said the Snoqualmie is more influenced by high temperatures, which make it difficult for fish to breathe.
To the north, the Stillaguamish River is more subject to sediment flows, which can suffocate salmon eggs.
The Skykomish is critical because its good health needs to be protected, Svrjcek and other river experts said.
“The Skykomish is one of the important areas in our (Snohomish River) basin that we need to focus recovery on,” said Martha Neuman, a senior planner with Snohomish County.
Neuman is leading the effort to develop rules to save two endangered fish species. “The bigger rivers are where we want to focus our recovery efforts,” she said.
Like all Puget Sound area rivers, the quality of water in the Skykomish is crucial, said Mike Chamblin, a watershed steward for the state Department of Fish and Game.
By building homes, sidewalks and roads, folks moving to Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar and Index make it hard for struggling salmon populations to survive.
“We can’t continue to do business as usual if we want to preserve salmon for the future,” Chamblin said.
County has rudder
County Executive Aaron Reardon proposes to push the 285,000 additional people expected here by 2025 into already developed areas, a strategy that American Rivers and other environmental groups support.
Under Reardon’s proposal for updating the county’s 10-year comprehensive plan, all sites would get to expand their urban growth boundaries by a collective 31/2 square miles over 20 years, said Tom Fitzpatrick, Reardon’s top assistant.
Environmentalists are worried that the County Council will vote for a high-growth alternative that would allow the urban growth footprint to grow by 11 1/2 square miles.
The council is likely to adopt that plan in the fall, at the same time it is expected to update its critical areas ordinance, Fitzpatrick said.
Those rules, which regulate how sensitive wetlands, creeks and steep slopes are protected, were due out in December.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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