A newsletter to update partners and other interested parties about the federal relicensing of the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. Information is also available on the project website or by emailing the project team at scl_skagitrelicensing@seattle.gov. 

Seattle City Light has more than 33 studies underway to help inform future operations of the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. Study focus areas range from cultural resources to shoreline erosion to whether, when, and how fish passage should be provided at the dams. These studies are critical to the relicensing process because they help us understand current conditions and adjust how we operate the Skagit Project to protect and steward the environment. 

Below is a brief snapshot of just a few of the studies currently underway:

Geomorphology is the study of how the physical features of the earth are formed by processes such as water and wind. City Light is studying how the Skagit River shapes the habitat between Gorge Dam and the Sauk River. This will help us understand how the rocks, gravel, soil, and vegetation along the river provide habitat that adult salmon use to spawn and lay eggs and young salmon use to grow. This study will also evaluate how changes in the amount of water that flows from the Skagit Project, downstream, may also change habitat for salmon.

Above: Rocks like this one are drilled, implanted with a transponder, released and tracked in the Skagit to help us understand patterns of sediment and bed-load transport to better manage spawning habitat.

This study focuses on amphibians like frogs that have official protection due to declining populations in the region or the potential for their habitats to be lost. The study aims to identify habitat areas in which two specific Special Status species—the Columbia spotted frog and the Oregon spotted frog—can lay eggs and determine if these species can be found in areas where dam-related operational activities occur. Results from the study will inform how land is managed in areas where the amphibians may be found. 

Boots are a must for the field teams working on this study. Spotted frogs spend most of their lives near shallow water and can be hard to find, which means the field teams will be wading through cold water in remote areas. The field teams will also use microphones to listen for invasive bullfrogs, which are not native to Washington and can eat native frogs, fish, and even ducklings.

Above: This adult female Oregon spotted frog is a little more than 3 inches in body length. She is plump with eggs that she will lay in a few months. (Photo copyright Stephen Nyman, used with permission)

Marbled Murrelets are small seabirds, about the size of a robin. They spend most of their time on the ocean but come inland to nest in old-growth forests like those found in the North Cascades. They prefer old-growth trees with horizontal limbs and mistletoe that create a platform for their eggs. (Their eggs are pointed on one end to keep them from rolling off the tree limb.) Murrelets fly in from the Pacific Ocean to the North Cascades daily to bring food to their nestlings.  

The North Cascades is at the inland limit of how far Marbled Murrelets may fly. We’re watching to see if they come into the area so we can map potentially suitable nesting habitat. This is a great study for field crew members who like getting up early—Murrelets can fly very fast, especially before dawn, so team members will have to get up before sunrise to detect them.

Above: This radar boat can search for Murrelets flying by in search of old-growth trees. (Photo credit: Cary Deringer, Hamer Environmental)

Recently, Seattle City Light CEO and General Manager Debra Smith sent a letter to License Participants clarifying the utility's position on fish passage. This Q&A takes a closer look at the issue.

Q: What is fish passage and why does it matter? 

A: Fish passage allows migrating fish to travel past dams or other barriers. Because they interfere with fish passage, many dams that power the Northwest are challenging for fish, particularly salmon. Lack of fish passage, combined with many other factors that affect fish, such as climate change, pollution, and damaged habitat, has played a role in the decline of the salmon population in our region. 

As a keystone species, salmon are critical to our environment. Furthermore, access to plentiful stocks of salmon is essential to the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribes' health and way of life.

Q: Why doesn't the Skagit Project already have fish passage? 

A: It's true that the Skagit is one of the few systems of its size that does not have fish passage installed. Based on the science at the time of the last license (1995), Tribes and regulatory agencies agreed that City Light should focus on other ways to protect and restore fish populations. Much has changed in the last 30 years, and we now recognize the value of performing additional studies using modern tools and methods. The next operating license (2025) will be based on the latest findings and will include all we’ve learned about climate change and fish impacts.

Q: What is the purpose of City Light's fish passage studies? 

A: The purpose of the fish passage studies is to investigate biological, physical, operational, and engineering factors involved when considering ways to provide safe, timely, and effective fish passage across the dams. The studies will include the development of upstream and downstream passage options. Tribes and regulators will use all that information to make their decision about what fish passage should look like. City Light will then implement the fish passage measures determined by tribal, federal, and state scientists. 

Q: Who is involved with the fish passage studies? 

A: City Light is committed to a process driven by collaboration. The Tribes and regulatory agencies (National Marine Fisheries Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington State Department of Ecology) who collectively manage fish in the Skagit River worked with us to develop the study plan needed to make good decisions. These studies will enable us— together— to analyze the results and develop mitigation plans.

Q: Why don't we skip the studies and do fish passage now? 

A: We hear those who are calling on us to build fish passage now. However, this is not City Light’s call, alone. This is a decision that we will make with our partners based upon the science that results from the studies. City Light will support and implement the outcomes of the relicensing process. To inform this important decision, we need to understand what the full impacts of fish passage would be on the environment we want to protect. Ecosystems are complex. We need to invest time and resources to develop the knowledge required to make sound decisions. That’s the purpose of the study plan.

Have a question for City Light about the dams or relicensing? Email us at scl_skagitrelicensing@seattle.gov.

City Light's Hydroelectric Resources

Learn more about the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project and other City Light hydroelectric resources.

Skagit Tours and Recreation

Explore the Skagit River and the beauty of the North Cascades.

Skagit Relicensing Project Page

Learn more about the relicensing process, including the library of public documents

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