The Stillaguamish Tribe and Snohomish County are partnering on a large floodplain restoration project along two miles of the North Fork Stillaguamish River at Trafton. The project area is around 250 acres: 176 acres owned by the Tribe and around 70 acres of Trafton Trailhead Park, which is owned by the County.
While the Stillaguamish River supports a great diversity of animal species, much of the historic floodplain habitats of the area were cleared, drained, diked, and armored over the past 100 years. These changes have drastically reduced habitat for all species, especially salmonids and Chinook in particular.
The Tribe intends to restore reach-scale river processes, salmon habitat, and achieve their tribal vision for watershed recovery on the lands they own at Trafton.
The current pattern of the North Fork Stillaguamish River has potential to threaten the stability of the Whitehorse Trail and bridge adjacent to the restoration area. By partnering with the Tribe on this project the trail can be protected, and an additional 70 acres of floodplain can be restored.
This project also provides an opportunity for the County to partner with the Tribe and act on Executive Somers’ Puget Sound Salmon Safe Pledge. One of the actions within his pledge is to pursue habitat restoration on County-owned lands.
