Energy Projects on Farmland
Skagit County farmland is facing new pressures from energy-related construction projects. Washington state as a whole is working hard to reduce fossil fuel emissions to combat climate change. A core part of this effort is to create green energy generation and storage projects. Large-scale solar fields and battery energy storage projects are just a couple types that have been proposed in Skagit County. Farmland looks like an available and affordable land base for these projects. That is a misconception that Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, and supporters like you, are working hard to clear up. Skagit County is unique in its commitment to our agricultural economy. For more than 30 years, citizens have contributed time and treasure to express their values and ensure Skagit farmland is not replaced by amusement parks, strip malls, fully contained communities… the list goes on and on. More than 88,000 acres have been designated as Agricultural – Natural Resource Land. The soil quality is among the top 2% in the world, facilitating the production of over 80 types of crops and livestock. Through three decades of hard work, 15,000 acres are in conservation easement, ensuring that farmers can keep farming. But make no mistake, each acre of the 88,000 is important. It enables an economy of scale that keeps the entire agricultural infrastructure going in Skagit County. Less available acres makes it that much harder for farmers to buy land to farm; this is of increasing importance as many farms are going through succession planning and land values continue to rise. Land that looks available and affordable for a battery energy storage project is not as it appears. This land is already spoken for. It is designated by the county as Agricultural – Natural Resource Land (Ag-NRL). We will be expanding this section of our website to inform people about the issues and emphasize the importance of striking a balance. At Skagitonians we believe it is vitally important to find ways to combat climate change and utilize green energy without compromising our values and sacrificing farmland in one of the last major agricultural valleys in the Puget Sound area. We value our agricultural economy, farms, farmers, and the safe, local, and diverse foods they provide.
Photo: Cedarbrook Studio
Agritourism
We are pleased with the decision by the Board of County Commissioners to enact an emergency moratorium and interim ordinance for Agritourism, signaling an opportunity to consider and incorporate the nearly 1000 public comments received by the County last summer, including the work and public comments submitted by the SPF sponsored multi-stakeholder agritourism workgroup.
The multi-stakeholder agritourism work group came together five hours a week for four weeks to develop a suite of win/win options for the County to consider as part of the public process last year.
The action of the Board of County Commissioners signals this work will now be considered as part of the County’s process moving forward.
We are looking forward to working with Skagit County and all the stakeholders in the new process.
Click HERE to get to our page on Agritourism.
Be Bird Wise
After a year of building partnerships and working with partners, we are excited to share the that Be Bird Wise partners have launched the inaugural annual campaign for the 2023 - 2024 winter waterfowl birding season, with a primary focus on Fir Island - to run until the end of the Tulip Festival.
The purpose and mission of the Be Bird Wise program is to promote responsible behavior while viewing migratory birds on the agricultural landscape.
The primary goals for the program at this time is to work to
Reduce instances of unsafe and/or illegal parking alongside roads and private property and
Reduce incidents of trespassing on private lands through public education. Using social media and printed publications, the Be Bird Wise campaign will be working to reach out to visitors already coming to visit Skagit Valley with information about how to interact with birds that are still occupying the agricultural fields in a way that is respectful of the privately owned farmland that is home to the tens of thousands of waterfowl annually.
A big thank you to Skagit County Lodging Tax Fund, HF Sinclair Puget Sound Refinery, Marathon Petroleum Corporation and Richard Hartung for providing support to this new initiative.
And a big thank you to the Be Bird Wise partners Ducks Unlimited, La Conner Chamber of Commerce, Skagit Audubon Society, Skagit Conservation District, Skagit Guided Adventures, Skagit Tourism Bureau, Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Western Washington Agricultural Association.
Joint Legislative Task Force on Water
As part of our participation in the Skagit Water Task Force (Taskforce), in partnership with the Skagit County Drainage and Irrigation Districts Consortium (Consortium) we continue to appreciate the opportunity to sit at the table and actively participate in a process intended to address multi-benefit water needs in the Skagit Basin.
In 2022 the Taskforce authorized a new study of the lower Skagit river, to update the quarter century old study that was the basis for the 2001 Instream Flow Rule ( 2001 IFR) for the Skagit River. The agencies and principals involved in the old study and the creation of the 2001 IFR did not include, analyze, or consider agricultural irrigation needs when passing the 2001 Instream Flow Rule.
The new study, authorized by the Task Force, is being conducted by Research Team comprised of experts from the University of Washington Salish Sea School, Washington Water Research Center, NOAA Fisheries, and the Skagit River System Cooperative. This new study will use the Skagit Hydrodynamic Model, representing Best Available Science at this time to model several physical parameters of the Skagit River downstream of the USGS gage in Mount Vernon and the estuary.
The Skagit HDM has already been used extensively on the lower Skagit River and was principal tool used to help develop the 2017 [Skagit] Estuary Restoration Strategic Assessment (ERSA) that SPF and multiple federal, tribal, state and local partners participated in to identify help identify the most productive habitat restoration sites while minimizing farmland loss. You can read the over view of ERSA HERE.
If approved by the Taskforce, this study will use the Skagit Hydrodynamic Model to model several physical parameters of the Skagit River downstream of the USGS gage in Mount Vernon and the estuary.
These physical parameters, in addition to information about the fisheries resources, will then be used to define a baseline condition for the purposes of comparison. The Research Team is also tasked with an evaluation of up to three alternative water supply scenarios and will report on the effects each alternative water supply scenarios may have on baseline physical parameters and fisheries resources in the lower Skagit River and estuary. SPF and the Consortium, after two years of working with local stakeholders, university scientist and members of the Taskforce, submitted two modeling requests to the Research Team to undertake in the new study.
You can read the request for two modeling scenarios HERE.
You can stay updated on the progress of SPF and the Consortium’s work on the Taskforce by going to the Studies & Reports page on SPF Website where we are posting information about the Water Task Force and related information. You can get to our Taskforce page directly by going HERE.