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SWM - Smith Island

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1. What is the Smith Island Restoration Project? Can you tell me more?

The Smith Island Restoration Project is part of the Snohomish County’s Sustainable Lands Strategy, which is balancing the need to restore vital salmon habitat while also protecting the viability of local agriculture. Farming and salmon production play a key role in the history, culture and economy of Snohomish County and both are protected through sustainable land projects.

According to Washington’s Government Land Office Survey of 1860, Smith Island was once very productive estuary for juvenile salmon. However, the land was later converted for farm use. Over the past several decades, the viability of the agricultural land diminished due to several factors, including ground subsidence and deterioration of drainage infrastructure. There have also been several incidences of erosion along the existing levee which have required continued maintenance. These factors aided in the Smith Island site selection.

2. Who's doing this?

Snohomish County is the project manager but support comes from local, state and federal agencies as well as tribal interests, fish enthusiasts and the agriculture community.

3. Why are you doing this?

Chinook salmon are considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. We are obligated by federal law to increase Chinook salmon numbers in the Puget Sound, and this project specifically increases the number of juvenile salmon on their way to the ocean, helping us make great strides in required salmon recovery plans.

4. How will this benefit salmon?

Salmon have a complex life cycle that takes them from the rivers to the oceans and back again. Smith Island is an estuary – the part where the river water and ocean water mix – a critical place for juvenile salmon to grow before they head to sea. The Smith Island project will provide habitat for on average 125,000 juvenile salmon annually but could provide habitat for as many as 250,000 juvenile salmon a year.

5. How will I benefit from the project?

If the region can restore salmon to healthy numbers, then we expect to see, environmental and commercial gains. River and ocean systems will be healthier. Increased salmon numbers mean more food for other protected species such as orcas, but it also means more opportunity for commercial, tribal and sports fishers. In the long-term, salmon restoration is good for the environment and keeps another healthy food source a viable option for residents of the Puget Sound.

6. When will you start?

Snohomish County’s project is undergoing vast design efforts and permitting reviews to be sure the project is safe and hits our targeted goals. We expect to begin construction this summer. The project will take about two years to complete.

7. So what exactly does it mean to breach a dike? Is it dangerous?

First, we build a brand new dike – which holds back flood and tidal waters – to the highest specifications to protect the best farmland and adjacent property, which includes farmland, local businesses and Interstate 5. Only then do we dig out the old dike – which is slowly aging – to let water into the land and return the area to the estuary it once was.

8. What happens to river levels once the old dike is breached and the new dike is built?

Estuaries are the part of a river where fresh water and ocean water mix. Estuaries ebb and flow with the tides, but the new dike ensures that the best farmland and adjacent property are protected from that water.

9. Should adjacent property owners be worried? Do they know what’s happening?

We’ve been communicating for years with adjacent property owners and made sure they have had a say in how the Smith Island project is constructed. Our project designs are the result of those conversations as well as the more than 150 science and engineering reports we’ve collected on different parts of the project.

10. What about flooding? Won’t this increase the chance for flooding on their property?

Our design for the new dike is even better than the existing dike, meaning there will be less chance for flooding than currently exists. In short, our project protects adjacent land better.

11. I heard this has always been farmland. How can you call it a “restoration” project? Aren’t you just destroying farmland?

Actually, that’s not true. Washington State’s Government Land Office reported in 1860 that this land was once a healthy, functioning estuary for juvenile salmon. It was later drained to create farmland and has only periodically been farmed because farmland quality is much better in other parts of Snohomish County.

12. How can you say you’re protecting farmland if you’re flooding it all?

The only farm activity now on Smith Island is a small horse-boarding operation in the southwestern part of the property. In reality, Smith Island hasn’t been farmed in many years because its quality for agricultural purposes is very poor. There is much better farmland available throughout Snohomish County, and we’re working to protect that through our Sustainable Lands Strategy, which balances the need to restore fish and protect farms.

13. Who owns the land?

The land is mostly owned by Snohomish County except for a piece at the southern end, which is owned by the city of Everett.

14. What's the cost?

Cost of construction is $18 million, and that comes from multiple sources, mostly state and federal grants. Economic benefit studies show the project will generate as much as $91 million in benefits.

15. That's a lot of money. Is it really worth it?

Studies show the project when completed is worth as much as $91 million in economic benefits during a 100-year period. Restoring salmon means increased opportunity for commercial, tribal and recreational fishers, and that puts money back into the economy. Plus, the downside of not completing a project like this means not following federal law, resulting in law suits and court actions that would likely cost millions of dollars.

16. I hear it will only save eight adult fish. That doesn’t seem worth it.

This project will provide habitat for as many as 250,000 juvenile salmon that once grown can provide economic benefit worth $91 million. That far outweighs the cost of construction.

17. Can’t you do this somewhere else? The impacts seem too large.

Multiple studies have focused on the best location for a project of such scale, and each has pointed to Smith Island as the best in terms of success. Yes, there are impacts, but the benefits outweigh those impacts, and Smith Island has the least impacts compared to other sites studied.

18. I’ve heard the soil is contaminated with arsenic. Won’t this project release dangerous contaminants into the water? Won’t that kill the fish or endanger my health?

We’ve collected lots of soil samples, and none has exceeded standards for safe arsenic levels for human or fish exposure. Arsenic levels also are considered to be well below the maximum permissible exposure levels for construction.

19. What about the Puget Sound Energy pipeline? Is there the chance of explosion or a damaged pipe?

Puget Sound Energy has reviewed our project designs for safety and compatibility with their pipeline. Studies have concluded that there is little to no risk of damage to the pipeline from the project.

20. OK, you’re going to flood a lot of land. As plants and trees decay, won’t that smell?

The ebb and flow of the tides will minimize the amount of decaying matter in the estuary, protecting water quality and eliminating smells.

21. But what about heat, won’t the water be too hot for fish?

An estuary’s waters are continually moving because of river flows and tides, keeping the water cool. Fish will be present mostly in the spring of each year, when snow melt is contributing to river water, mixing with the already cool water of the Puget Sound.

22. How can I learn more about the project?

For more detailed information on the project,
Click here!