Skagit Wildlife Area - Fir Island Farm Ecosystem Restoration
Project Summary
The Fir Island Farm Ecosystem Restoration project was located on the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) Snow Goose Reserve at Fir Island, west of Conway, Washington. The WDFW Snow Goose Reserve is comprised of 245 acres that are currently farmed with special farming provisions to meet the reserve’s snow goose management objectives. Natural tidal exchange to the site has been eliminated by the historic construction of coastal dikes along Skagit Bay. The project reclaimed approximately 127 acres of tidal marsh land and restored tidal process to the site.
The project included the following:
- Breaching the existing coastal dike along Skagit Bay to restore tidal influences
- Filling the existing channels adjacent to the coast dike with breach material
- Construction of a new 5,800-foot setback dike
- Construction of a new pump station within the setback dike
- Construction of a new estuarine berm
- Dredging and expanding historical tidal channels and excavating marsh pilot channels to enhance restoration and limit adverse erosion effects
- Grading high marsh fill material adjacent to the setback dike to enhance restoration and limit adverse erosion effects
- Constructing an approximately 2,300-foot-long by 135-foot-wide storage pond
- Replacement of new tidegates to facilitate drainage from the new storage pond and the existing sloughs