Snohomish County has 16 culvert replacement projects lined up through 2025. The Herald’s recent article (“Drivers must reroute so salmon have a better commute near Mill Creek,” The Herald, July 23) comments, “It may not mean much to drivers,” but it means a lot to me. I might no be around when Sound Transit’s light rail reaches Everett, but with 16 culvert projects lined up, maybe I’ll get to see salmon.
I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for a homework assignment on the culvert case (United States v. Washington) I wouldn’t even know about the culvert project referred to in The Herald. Especially since the case mandating it was decided over 15 years ago.
As I started to think about how incredibly slow policy related changes can move, I had a lightbulb moment. These projects don’t just happen, they are the fruit of sometimes a lifetime of policy advocacy work. There are many who dreamed of seeing projects, like the culvert replacements, completed. Then there are those who won’t know any difference. Seeing the salmon will (hopefully) be a regular thing and they’ll have no concept of the efforts it took to bring them back.
I’m not gonna lie; I envy the next generation who will inherit light rail service less than a mile from where I live. But I can also be grateful for projects I get to witness, like the culvert replacements. Projects initiated by past council cohorts and policy workers who didn’t get to see the finished work.
I want to recognize the work of the Tribal, county, state, and contracted personnel — past and present — who continue to move these projects forward. True that it may not mean much to drivers, but we aren’t the only ones who count.
Michelle Stewart
Everett
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