2015 Skagit River Salmon Festival guide

SKAGIT RIVER SALMON FESTIVAL

SALMON FESTIVAL

Saturday, September 12 • 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Waterfront Park at Swinomish Casino & Lodge SkagitRiverFest.org A SUPPLEMENT TO THE SKAGIT VALLEY HERALD AND ANACORTES AMERICAN

SKAGIT RIVER SALMON FESTIVAL

Spawnsors King Spawnsors

Silver Spawnsors

Beer & Wine Garden

Sockeye Spawnsors

Steelhead Level

Humpy Level

Chum Level

Island Hospital Foundation

Fidalgo Fly Fishers

Skagit County

Quantum Construction

Dairy Farmers of Washington

Little Creek Casino Resort

Food Services of America

Burlington Rotary Foundation

Samish Indian Nation

Spectra

Port of Skagit

Sierra Pacific Industries

HDR

Upper Skagit Indian Tribe

SALMON FESTIVAL

Kalispel Tribe of Indians Rozema Boat Works

2

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Contents SKAGIT PUBLISHING 1215 Anderson Rd., Mount Vernon, WA 98274 P: 360.424.3251 F: 360.424.5300 Restocking: 360.424.3251 Š2015 by Skagit Publishing LLC All rights reserved.

EDITOR Kevin Tate Advertising Director Duby Petit dpetit@skagitpublishing.com Sales and Community Relations Director Deb Davis Bundy dbundy@skagitpublishing.com Design & Layout Jody Hendrix Advertising Sales Beverly Cloer, Abby Jackson, Tina Pullar, Kathy Schultz, Katie Sundermeyer, John Williams Advertising Operations Holly Chadwick, Jody Hendrix, Julia Matylinski, Dana Perry, Patricia Stowell, Jessica Dobie-Wagner

Cover Art: Upriver by Karen Bakke, 2015 Skagit River Salmon Festival featured artist

goskagit.com

4 6 8 10

Festival Growing By Leaps & Bounds The Humpies Are Here!

Water’s Value

Can We Sustain the Magic of the Skagit and Its Salmon?

14 16 17 18 20 21 22 25 29 30

Swinomish Canoe Journeys Festival Map Festival Event Schedule Meet the Storytellers 2015 Featured Artist Puget Sound DockDogs Skagit Wild & Scenic How to Be a Salmon Friendly Gardener Test Your Knowledge Skagit Valley Herald Coloring Contest

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

3

Festival Growing By Leaps & Bounds

W

elcome to the Skagit River Salmon Festival! We have another great

event planned for you. The Waterfront Park at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge is a beautiful spot to spend the day celebrating the mighty Skagit River and return of the salmon. We’ve expanded the hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with great live music to take you into the early evening. Bellamaine, a Seattle band with Anacortes roots, will be headlining our evening music set.

The Festival has a terrific lineup of new activities and entertainment you won’t want to miss, with something for every interest—young or old.

The Puget Sound DockDogs are back with their fur flyin’ fun as the world’s premier canine aquatics competition. Utilizing a 40-foot pool, dogs and their owners will compete to see whose dog can jump the farthest, highest and swim the fastest. It’s a thrill to watch these four-legged athletes compete for “Iron Dog” honors.

Kevin Tate

Board President Skagit River Salmon Festival

The Sardis Raptor Center will be presenting its Hunters of the Sky raptor show that provides an introduction to birds of prey. It’s a chance to see these magnificent birds up close and learn about their natural history, species identification, environmental issues and the roles raptors play in our watershed.

Our Kidz Zone, hosted by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County, is expanding with lots of energy-burning activities for the younger crowd to do. We’ve added the Big Baller Inflatable Obstacle Course that features four huge red inflatable balls surrounded by a blue ball pit resembling a moat filled with water. Try to navigate across without falling in! If you need a break from all the action, relax in the colorful salmon tent as storytellers weave tales about the salmon, pirates and Native American legends from the past.

Be sure to take part in the Festival’s “Passport” activity with a chance to win a great prize.

Learn about our amazing Skagit River watershed and ways you can help protect its resources with 30 environmental agencies and nature groups onsite. Answer a question at a booth and have your Passport stamped. Once your book is filled, turn it in to become eligible for a host of fun prizes.

On behalf of the board of directors, our Festival planning team, sponsors, vendors and volunteers, we thank you for your support and participation in the fourth annual Skagit River Salmon Festival. Enjoy the day!

4

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Wells Fargo is proud to support the Skagit River Salmon Festival

Wells Fargo salutes the Skagit River Salmon Festival and its efforts to conserve the Skagit River.

wellsfargo.com/com Š 2015 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. WCS-1267501

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

5

The

Humpies

T

he Skagit River is fortunate enough to be the only river in Washington state with significant runs of all five species of Pacific salmon—Chinook (king or blackmouth), coho (silver), chum (dog), sockeye (red) and pink (humpy or humpback).

Since 2015 is a year ending in an odd number, this is a year when the humpy salmon return to the Skagit River by the hundreds of thousands.

Fisher men, women and children line the banks of the Skagit and the shorelines of Whidbey Island every two years to catch these numerous salmon.

Local stores sell pints of sand shrimp like hot cakes, while many kids get their first chance to take part in a Pacific Northwest tradition and reel in a salmon.

Why are pink salmon called “humpies�?

Male pink salmon develop a distinct hump on their backs as they return to the river to spawn. Adult pink salmon can also be distinguished from the other salmon by the presence of large oval spots on the tail and upper body and small scales.

Why do the humpies only return every other year? Humpy salmon have a very precise twoyear life cycle, unlike Chinook, coho, chum and sockeye, which all spend variable numbers of years in the fresh and salt water before returning to the river where they hatched. All pink salmon migrate

6

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

are are Here!

Here!

to the ocean at the same time. In the spring, just a few weeks after hatching from eggs, baby pink salmon (called fry) migrate to the estuary. By July, young pink salmon move away from the nearshore and begin their extensive migration in the North Pacific. They feed heavily zooplankton, small fish, squid and pteropods. After two ocean summers, the adult humpies return to the river where they hatched to spawn.

There have been numerous attempts to establish even year runs of pinks in Puget Sound using even year Alaska stocks. In the early 1900s, the Washington Department of Fisheries imported over 82 million eggs from Alaska and released over 75 million young pink salmon in numerous rivers including the Skagit and the Samish. None of these attempts were successful. You may find a few even year pinks in Puget Sound; however, it is likely the result of the occasional straying adult from a northern fishery.

Pink salmon are the smallest of the Pacific salmon averaging 3.5 to 5 pounds. However, they must grow rapidly to reach this size while only spending two years in the ocean. While pink salmon are small compared to the other species of salmon, they are also the most abundant. In the Skagit River alone, an average of 500,000 to 1 Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

A River Runs Through the Port of Skagit

Commissioner Kevin Ware District One

million humpy salmon return as adults every other year to spawn.

For 2015, the estimated run of humpies into Puget Sound’s rivers is 6.8 million fish with 600,000 estimated to enter the Skagit. The majority of Puget Sound humpies return to the Skagit, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Green, Puyallup and Nisqually Rivers.

This estimated run size should provide for a robust recreational fishery in the Skagit watershed.

Even though Pacific salmon stop feeding once they enter the river, humpies are attracted to a variety of slow moving and small, bright lures, especially with some pink coloration. When a humpy is caught, they should be bled (cut at the gills), gutted and iced as soon as possible in order to retain freshness.

Unlike Chinook, coho, chum and sockeye, there are no pink salmon populations in Washington state that are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Of the five species of Pacific salmon, pink populations have the lowest risk for extinction.

If you are interested in more than fishing for humpies you can help count pink salmon returning to their spawning grounds by volunteering to be a Spawner Survey volunteer with the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group. A training workshop for volunteers will be held on October 3. More info at www.skagitfisheries.org.

By David Beatty, Fish Biologist and retired Professor of Zoology.

Humpy photo: Jessica Newley

Commissioner Steven Omdal District Two

Commissioner Bill Shuler District Three

The Skagit River runs through all three commissioner districts of the Port of Skagit, giving meaning and focus to the port’s vision. That vision is to lead efforts to build a strong economy in Skagit County while valuing the area’s natural assets and great quality of life.

We applaud and support the efforts of the Skagit River Salmon Festival to bring attention to this most valuable of Skagit County resources. Not only does the river lend our county its name and give us an unrivaled sense of place, but it also provides drinking water, salmon habitat, recreation and clean energy. It is a natural treasure.

The Port of Skagit welcomes new or expanding businesses and their employment opportunities at our facilities, and we look forward to working with advocates for the Skagit River as we move forward to achieve our mission of Good Jobs for Our Community.

Inspiring Success, Delivering Excellence 15400 Airport Drive Burlington WA 98233 www.portofskagit.com goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

7

Water’s Value W

What is the value of water to you?

e drink it. We bathe and swim in it. We cook with it. But, have you thought about how much water is part of your daily life? Water is used in almost every manufacturing process from clothes to cars to food to computers. In fact, almost everything we touch every day has been made with water.

As populations grow, the demand on our water resources is challenged to keep up. In the United States, the infrastructure is outdated. In developing countries, infrastructure is needed.

Did you know?

•

Did you know?

• It takes 1,500 gallons to process one barrel of beer.

Although a person can live without food for more than a month, a person can only live without water for approximately one week.

• Only one percent of the earth’s water is suitable for drinking water.

• It takes 101 gallons to make one pound of wool or cotton.

• It takes 1,851 gallons to refine one barrel of crude oil.

• The average person in the United States uses 100-150 gallons of water each day, Europeans use an average of 74 gallons, Africans use 17 gallons and the Chinese use about 23 gallons.

• It takes 62,600 gallons to produce one ton of steel.

The United Nations estimates about half the world’s population— potentially more than three billion people—may suffer from water shortages by the year 2025. It is estimated that more than two billion people do not have access to safe drinking water or sanitation.

• About 70 percent of water is used for agriculture globally, while 20 percent is used for industry and 10 percent for residential use.

• Asia has significant water challenges with 36 percent of the world’s water supply, yet 60 percent of the total population.

Rozema Boats Proud sponsor of the Skagit River Salmon Festival 8

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

• Leaks are an enormous problem. In developing countries, nearly 40 percent of the water is lost before it reaches its destination.

• In the United States, we pay about $.005 per gallon of water.

Compared to a gallon of milk at $3.75—750 times the cost of water.

For many Skagit County residents, the main source of water for their homes and businesses

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

originates from the Skagit River.

This year’s dry weather and low snowpack in the mountains has cast a spotlight on how important water is to the communities we live in. Water managers face a delicate balancing act when it comes to ensuring there is sufficient water for people, farms, and industry, while still leaving enough in our rivers and streams to protect fish habitat.

The Skagit River and its tributaries support some of the healthiest salmon runs in the Northwest. When stream levels drop too low, water temperatures go up and become lethal to salmon returning from the ocean to spawn.

Here’s three simple water-saving ideas you can use at home:

1 2 3

Be a drip detective. Check all faucets, toilets and appliances for water leaks and fix them.

Keep it under five. Time your shower to keep it under five minutes. Save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

Turn it down. Turn the water off while you brush your teeth.

Skagit Public Utility District, *Did you know water facts came from a variety of sources, including: Global Water which operates the largest water Intelligence, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the United Nations. system in the county, provides on average nine million gallons of piped water to approximately 65,000 people every day. The Skagit River provides roughly 45 percent Highest Quality • Local Shrimp of the source water in the Judy Reservoir system, which supplies the cities of Burlington, Mount Shop Here for LOCAL Gift Items: Local Jams • Jellies • Salsas • Honey • Sauces Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. Pressure on water resources comes from Dungeness Crab • Fresh Fish • Clams • Mussels • Oysters for Every Taste many sources, including population Shrimp • Scallops • Smoked Fish growth, in-stream flows (protecting DAILY LUNCH SPECIALS WITH LOCAL SEAFOOD! fish, wildlife and recreation), and Locally owned & operated by local fishermen & women. business needs. Water systems using EBT their water efficiently allow growth 360.707.2722 | 18042 Hwy 20 | Burlington | www.SkagitFish.com Accepted in their communities and water for other environmental uses. Promoting the efficient use of water helps ensure reliable water supplies are available for all customers.

Take a moment to reflect about the importance of water in your daily life. A liquid we can’t live without. What is your water footprint? And, what can you do to make a difference? goskagit.com

12761 Quantum Lane Anacortes • 360-293-0656 quantumci.com Skagit Publishing LLC

• Commercial • Industrial • Custom Residential

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

9

Photo: Pat Buller

Can We Sustain the Magic of the Skagit and Its Salmon?

Proud SPAWNsor of the

Skagit River Salmon Festival

10

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

T

he Skagit River is home to five species of salmon and three species of trout, and produces the largest amount of these fish of all of the rivers of Puget Sound. This is largely due to its size (third largest river on the West Coast), high quality headwater areas in the Cascade Mountains, and the high diversity of habitat that juvenile fish use for rearing in its middle and lower reaches.

The Skagit produces about 50 percent of all the Chinook salmon in Puget Sound each year. Unfortunately, this king of the salmon is greatly reduced from historical abundance.

Scientists have strong evidence that spawning conditions are abundant and of high quality in the upper watershed, but that the habitat in the floodplains and estuary where they grow (or rear) limits their survival.

This makes common sense because

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Juvenile sockeye salmon.

County in the last century. Our society has diked, dredged, ditched, and diverted the river and its tributaries to benefit other human values such as urban development and agriculThis rearing habitat for young fish ture. For example, the area available in the mainstem valley bottoms and for estuary rearing fish has been rethe estuary where freshwater mixes duced from 28,375 acres historically with saltwater has been significantly to 7,700 acres today, which is a 73 percent loss of this most important reduced since settlement of Skagit if the baby fish don’t have places to hide, feed, and grow before being swept out to Skagit Bay at a small size they are much more likely to perish.

type of habitat.

In 2005, salmon recovery planners developed a goal to try to increase estuary rearing capacity by 60 percent to meet the goal of providing enough habitat for Chinook salmon to persist into the future and not go extinct. Depending on the location cont. on pg.12

of the

Upper Skagit Indian Tribe

SKAGIT RIVER

is a Proud Sponsor of the 4th Annual

IS PLEASED TO BE A SPONSOR

SALMON FESTIVAL

Skagit River Salmon Festival

SPECTRAEXPERIENCES.COM

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

11

back dikes. And this is exactly what state, local, and tribal governments have been doing. In 2016, with the completion of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s latest project at its Fir Island Snow Goose Preserve, 667 acres of estuary habitat

cont. from pg.11

and quality of restoration sites, one way to meet this goal would be to return about 2,700 acres (less than 10 percent of historic estuary habitat) to flooded wetlands by setting

will have been restored since 2005, which is equal to about 25 percent progress towards meeting this goal in 10 years!

About 140 other restoration projects have been completed in the Valley since 1998, and have made similarly important strides for salmon and trout habitat. Here are some notable examples: • Several hundred miles of both private and public road systems in the forested uplands of the Skagit River have been either decommissioned or retrofitted to reduce sediment delivery to stream channels, thereby reducing the chance that salmon eggs will be smothered in their nests (or redds).

Day Creek restoration project.

• At least 75 undersized culverts that limit fish passage (and exacerbate flooding impacts on our communities) have been upgraded, opening access up to well over 100 miles of spawning and rearing habitats in smaller tributaries.

• More than 30 miles of stream habitat has been improved by reconnecting it to its floodable adjacent areas (also called floodplains), remeandering ditched sections, and/ or adding woody debris that scours pool and provides places for young fish to hide and grow.

The Fidalgo Fly Fishers enjoy and promote the sport of fly fishing with • Monthly meetings • Flying Fishing activities • Volunteer work in education and conservation

• Nearly 1,000 acres of streamside vegetation (also called riparian areas) have been improved by fencing out cattle access, planting trees and removing invasive species.

This is important for fish habitat to keep the streams cold and clear, particularly with future increasing temperatures from climate change.

• About 2,300 acres of high quality

Learn more at fidalgoflyfishers.com

12

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

cont. on pg.13 goskagit.com

cont. from pg.13

floodplain habitat in the valley bottoms have been permanently protected from future development through voluntary land transactions.

Photo: Pat Buller

While different organizations and landowners are doing what they can to restore habitat that was damaged before we knew how impactful it was to fisheries resources, the true magic of the Skagit River is that it is very much still in good shape habitat-wise. Given that, most of the goals outlined in the Skagit River Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan, and forefront in the minds of Skagit County and Washington state citizens, are just to try to preserve and protect the river just as it is for future generations. Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to pass along this wonderful treasure so others could benefit from it as we have?

If you want to do your part to preserve and/or restore the magic of

the Skagit and Samish Rivers, you of ensuring we leave this place better can find much more information than we found it! by contacting the Skagit Watershed

By Richard Brocksmith, Executive Council (www.skagitwatershed.org) Director Skagit Watershed Council or any of its 34 members to find fun ways to participate, whether you are a school-aged child, a streamside landowner, or just a member of our community who wants to be a part

Day Creek restoration project.

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

13

Swinomish Canoe Journeys A cross time canoes have carried the Coast Salish culture forward into new waters and nowhere is that truer than at Swinomish. For millennia ancestors of the presentday Swinomish community carved

massive logs into immense “family canoes,” capable of crossing the open waters of the Salish Sea, and shallow “shovel-nose” canoes that easily maneuvered the rivers and streams of the Swinomish ancestral

Is a Proud Sponsor of the 2015

Skagit River Salmon Festival 14

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Paddle to Swinomish 2011

homeland. Canoes were the economic engines of Native society, taking the Tribe’s forbearers to distant places from the San Juan Islands to Canada, or upriver to mountain country, to gather the different foods that sustained them: fin fish and shellfish, meat, plants, and roots. When non-native settlement began in the 1820s, their canoes took them farther still, to Hudson’s Bay Company trading posts at Fort Nisqually (near present-day Steilacoom), and Fort Langley on the Fraser River. As they traveled, their Lushootseed place names marked land features, a knowledge that guided canoe voyages and was passed from one generation to another. These tools for transportation connected the essential parts of their lives.

As settlers arrived in Western Washington, Indians quickly realized that their canoes, and their canoe skills, were valuable commodities: newcomers relied heavily on both. Indian paddlers and their canoes were hired by pioneers, doc-

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

tors, the new territorial government, and the Federal agency that governed Indian tribes after the 1855 Pt. Elliott Treaty (which established the Swinomish Reservation). But the decades after “Treaty Time” brought less dependence upon Indians’ vast knowledge of local waterways.

Steamboats became common on Puget Sound in the 1860s and replaced canoes-for-hire. And, as the century closed, Indians’ canoe travel to traditional fishing and hunting grounds diminished, a result of nonnatives restricting Indians’ treaty rights to procure food as they had for thousands of years, and the Federal Government pressuring Indians to become farmers and assimilate into White society.

brought new waters for Native canoes to venture into as Indian communities searched for a way to meaningfully participate in centennial festivities. The Native American Canoe Project, an effort to “perpetuate the nearly lost art of cedar canoe carving,” was the result. New canoes were carved and in July 1989, 16 tribes, including Swinomish, made the historic “Paddle to Seattle.” But the Paddle was about more than just canoe carving. It created an unprecedented opportunity for Native peoples to rediscover their Coast Sal-

In the late 1800s, Indian canoe travel evolved into a new form: canoe racing as entertainment. Countless spectators flocked to races held throughout Western Washington where the skill of Swinomish carvers shone in their sleek racing canoes renowned for their speed, vessels such as the Telegraph, Question Mark, and Lone Eagle. The skill of Swinomish paddlers brought home many trophies from these events, including the “International War Canoe Race” on Whidbey Island which was recorded by Hollywood filmmakers and shown throughout American movie theaters. Today canoe racing is alive and well at Swinomish, an avenue for youth to learn and reclaim their traditional ties to water through athletic competition. In the words of Coach Brian Porter those races help tribal youth by “integrating our culture into our daily lives.”

By Theresa Trebon, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Archivist

Congratulates the Skagit River Salmon Festival on its 4th year

The observance of the 1989 Washington State Centennial goskagit.com

ish culture and heritage. For indigenous communities throughout the Salish Sea region, and far beyond as well, Canoe Journey, as it’s become known, has brought that promise to life. Each summer, communities bordering the Salish Sea ring with vibrant Native song and ceremony as tribes from Washington and Canada journey by canoe to remember, and recreate, the rich ties to their heritage that were almost lost.

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

15

Festival Map

ORGANIZATION Booths

Vendor Booths Food Vendors:

Arts/Crafts Commercial:

Big Scoop Simply Asia Random Acts of Food Ma & Pa Kettle Korn Pioneer Farms Grill Louie G’s Pizza Swinomish Casino & Lodge Queen Bee Espresso Channelside Café AB’s Hillbilly Gyros Valley Hand Pies Native Fry Bread

The Bakke Gallery NW Feather Design Jellyfish Creations Simply Silver All About Beads Soroptomist Cabela’s Gutter Helmet Live Wires!

16

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Children’s Museum of Skagit County Coastal Volunteer Partnership Fidalgo Fly Fishers Friends of Skagit Beaches Illuminated Wildlife Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Program North Cascades Institute North Cascades National Park Northwest Indian College Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Shannon Point Marine Center Skagit Climate Science Consortium Skagit Conservation District

Skagit Conservation Education Alliance Skagit County Public Works Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group Skagit Land Trust Skagit Public Utility District Skagit River Bald Eagle Awareness Team Skagit River System Cooperative Skagit Watershed Council Skagit Valley College Dept of Environmental Conservation The Nature Conservancy WA Dept Natural Resources Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Western Wildlife Outreach Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Festival Events Schedule 2015 10:00 to 7:00 Puget Sound DockDogs

Sky All Around

12:30, 2:30, 5:00 Sardis Raptor Center

Peter Ali

The Sardis Raptor Center presents the Hunters of the Sky raptor show with an introduction to birds of prey. It’s a chance to see the big birds up close and learn about their natural history, species identification, environmental issues and the roles raptors play in our watershed.

11:00 Stage B

Peter Ali

11:45 The Gristmill Rounders Main Stage

5:00 Stage B

Sky All Around

5:30 Main Stage

John Van Deusen

John Van Deusen, a singer/songwriter from Anacortes, will be playing a set of thoughtful, melodic pop songs on acoustic guitar. Van Deusen is the former lead singer for the band The Lonely Forest.

6:00 Main Stage

Bellamaine

Indie-rock band Bellamaine headlines the Festival with its mix of warm synthesizers, immediate hooks, big rhythms and sparkling guitars. Out of Seattle, this foursome creates a feel-good, infectious sound that you’ll be unable to get out of your head.

*Please note that times may vary.

Rivertalk

Rivertalk plays sophisticated original, world beat dance music inspired

by Bob Marley, Carlos Santana, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa and Afro Pop. Featuring Jan Foster on vocals and a troupe of accomplished musicians including a three-piece horn section, amazing guitar, and rock solid rhythm.

You are guaranteed to be dancing!

Bellamaine

The Gristmill Rounders hail from the deep, dark hills of southwest Bellingham. Come out for some two-steppin’ fun with this lively bluegrass band.

Rivertalk

Rabbit Wilde captures the wind, the streams and the mountain air in their songs. With their widely varying influences, three distinct vocal styles and copious amounts of footstomping, they demonstrate a sound and presence that’s at once original and familiar, appealing to audiences of all generations and genres.

Sky All Around is a little bit of Folk, Rock and Americana. This newly formed band will get your toes tappin’ and fingers snappin’ with its unique sound.

John Van Deusen

Peter Ali is a Native flutist who creates his music not from notes, but from spirit within so each performance is unique and special. He plays a variety of Native flutes and shares their stories as well as stories of his rich ethnic heritage. Listen to the sounds of eagle, running river, nature and spirit in the flute’s song.

1:00 Main Stage

Rabbit Wilde

ilde Rabbit W

For fur flyin’ fun catch the Puget Sound DockDogs— the world’s premier canine aquatics competition.

Utilizing a 40-foot pool, dogs and their owners will compete to see whose dog can jump the farthest, highest and swim the fastest. Thrill at watching these four-legged athletes compete for ‘Iron Dog’ honors.

3:00 Main Stage

EVENT NOTES - Festival is free to the public. Free parking.

- Over 25 conservation booths with educational activities.

- Storytellers are in the 30-foot colorful salmon tent.

- Be sure to pick up your passport at any booth in Conservation Alley and bring your completed passport page to the Information Booth for a chance to win prizes.

- Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County is hosting the Kidz Zone with lots of fun and games.

- Festival T-shirts and hats are available for purchase at the Information Booth.

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Scan this QR code with your smartphone. Navigate to our goskagit.com full site to view this publication in page-flip format at the bottom of the page.

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

17

Meet the Storytellers Lois Landgrebe

Tulalip tribal member Lois Landgrebe has always been a storyteller. What started out as an entertaining way to comfort her younger sister during childhood has evolved into a beautiful craft she uses to connect people to her tribal culture. Bilingual in English and her tribe’s traditional language, Lushootseed, she gracefully uses the two languages interchangeably to help the listener understand the historical importance of her stories, while also being entertained.

Storytelling at 11 a.m., Noon, and 2 p.m.

Stacey R. Campbell Get ready for all the fun, hidden treasure, swordfights, terrifying storms and island paradise adventures that make pirate sagas so exciting as author Stacey R. Campbell reads from her book Arrgh! A delightful symphony for children, tuned with evocative prose that conjures images of the seafaring life. A graduate of the University of Washington, Campbell is a dyslexic writer who believes there is no such thing as a bad reader. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three daughters.

Storytelling at 1 p.m.

STREAMSIDE LANDOWNERS NO COST TO YOU! Funding available for streamside plantings, bank protection, invasive removal, fencing to keep livestock out of the stream, and more!

JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE ALREADY • RESTORED OVER 13.6 MILES OF STREAMSIDE HABITAT • INSTALLED NEARLY 3.6 MILES OF LIVESTOCK FENCE • PLANTED OVER 90,000 NATIVE PLANTS

SKAGIT COUNTY’S NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

Betsy Risser Betsy Risser works as a Public Services Assistant with the Mount Vernon Library where she is a storyteller, assists with Youth Services and does outreach for YMCA summer day camps. Risser says storytelling comes in many forms— dance, painting, singing, sculpture, theatre and reading. Her childhood stories came from Hawaii, Portugal, Old Man Coyote, and Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Risser appreciates all of the teachers along the way who nurtured and helped develop her love for storytelling.

Storytelling at 3 p.m.

To find out if your property is eligible, visit:

www.skagitcounty.net/nrsp Or contact Michael C at 360-416-1400 • michaelc@co.skagit.wa.us

18

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Columbia

Distributing

2015 Sponsor

Skagit River Salmon Festival

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

19

2015 Festival Featured Artist About the Artist Karen Bakke’s local art history has mainly focused on freelance graphic design and visual effects. Bakke has also worked on an array of artistic sideline ventures, one of the “biggest” being theatrical backdrops. This last year, Bakke says she has committed 110 percent in pursuit of her final career— fine art. She is enthralled to discover and unveil the once mysterious world of oil painting and has taken it one step further—to paint en plein air, a French expression that means “in the open air,” along with her studio artwork. Bakke belongs to the Salish Sea Plein Air Painters and is a board member of the Plein Air Washington Artists (PAWA). You may find more work and contact information at thebakkegallery.com or facebook.com/thebakkegallery.

The featured artwork, Upriver, is an oil on canvas painting that wonderfully captures sockeye salmon returning from the ocean to spawn upriver. Be sure to stop by her Festival booth, where Bakke will be signing copies of the official Festival posters that are for sale.

20

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Fur Flyin’ Fun with DockDogs Competition

T

his year’s entertainment lineup includes the Puget Sound DockDogs competition. The sport of DockDogs consists of four disciplines: Big Air is the long jump equivalent for canine athletes. At speeds over 20 mph, Big Air dogs catapult off the end of a 40-foot dock into a 28,000-gallon pool to retrieve a floatable object, like their favorite toy.

Jump distances are measured from the end of the dock to where the base of the dog’s tail breaks the water.

Extreme Vertical is a high jump contest in which the dog launches upward in order to knock down a bumper suspended over the water. Runs are shorter, and speed is reduced in order to achieve maximum height at a toy suspended eight feet from the edge of the dock.

Speed Retrieve is a sport where teams race against the clock. Each competing dog runs, jumps, swims, and retrieves an object located on an extender at the end of the pool, at a distance of 58 feet from the starting block on the dock.

Iron Dog is the discipline to determine the best of the best. An Iron Dog is a dog that excels in all three disciplines, and is determined by adding a precise numerical calculation for each of the three disciplines in order to determine the highest score.

The Skagit River’s abundant salmon and trout resources are integral to our cultural heritage and economy. The 34 member organizations of the Watershed Council and hundreds of volunteers are working everyday to ensure our grandchildren enjoy and benefit from them as we have. You can help too!

For more information about salmon, the work of our members, and ways to get involved, please contact us or visit our website.

Photo credit: Natalie Fobes

www.skagitwatershed.org goskagit.com

(360) 419-9326 Skagit Publishing LLC

council@skagitwatershed.org Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

21

Skagit

Wild & T

he Skagit Wild and Scenic River System is managed to protect and enhance the free-flowing condition, water quality and outstanding values for which the river was designated, while providing for public recreation and resource uses that do not adversely impact or degrade those values.

Beginning high in the North Cascade Mountain Range, the Skagit Wild and Scenic River winds down steep slopes, through forested hill-

Scenic

sides and wide, open valleys eventually reaching Puget Sound. The rivers of the Skagit System (Skagit, Sauk, Suiattle and Cascade) flow through rugged wilderness, forestlands, rural communities, farmlands and cities of the lower Skagit Valley. The rivers are vital to valley residents and visitors, as the ebb and flow of moving waters influence their lives.

scenery, qualities that make the Skagit an ideal component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Outstanding Fisheries

Catching sight of wild fish swimming and spawning throughout these rivers is an invigorating experience.

Each species depends on certain elements to support them in their struggle for survival. Woody debris The essence of the river system in the streams and shady riverbanks reveals itself in abundant wildlife, exceptional fisheries, and outstanding help provide structure for good

PROUD SPONSOR

HDR ENGINEERING

Chinook Salmon

(Oncorynchus tshawytscha) Â Chinook, also known as king salmon or blackmouth, are silver in color with dark spots, which generally cover all of the head, back, dorsal fin and adipose fin as well as all of the squared tail.

During spawning, the body color changes to olive-brown, darker in males. Teeth are set in black gums inside a gray or black mouth. Chinook are generally the largest of the Pacific salmon and any salmon over 30 pounds is likely a chinook.

Spawn Aug-Oct

22

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

migrate from freshwater to salt water Rubus spectabilis (salmonberry) and back again to complete their life cycle. Young salmon travel from their natal streams out to the ocean Distinctive runs of Chinook, pink, and then return to spawn as adults, cades and die. coho and sockeye salmon share the over wood and Eggs laid in nests in the river rivers with winter chum, favorite rock in steep, food of the bald eagle. Wild steelhead gravel incubate until late winter or narrow stretches. and other sea-going trout also live in early spring. After emerging from Standing on a riverthe gravel, chum salmon fry live for the rivers along with resident trout. bank in the spring you are a few weeks in the river, and then The return of wild salmon is a greeted by a lush array of salmonnatural cycle to celebrate every year. migrate to the sea. The cycle begins berry, thimbleberry, vine maple, and anew, a precious heritage for all the Salmon are a vital link, bringing alder trees growing along the shorenutrients from the ocean back to the river’s inhabitants. line. As the seasons pass, colorful mountains, thus sustaining many leaves drift away exposing stark bare Remarkable Scenery other species that depend on them branches and fields of golden grass.

Travel along the rivers offers a for food. One of the most familiar of As you look up, deep green forested these is the bald eagle, which comes wide spectrum of spectacular scenery. slopes of fir and cedar blend into jagViews of rural communities blend to the upper Skagit each winter to ged peaks of rock and snow. Beyond with long undeveloped stretches of feed on chum salmon carcasses. the scenery, discover a complex relariver adding to the wild character.

Salmon are one of the most cont. on pg.24 Water shimmers in quiet pools, flows distinctive river inhabitants. They gently across wide channels and cashabitat. Clear, cool waters running over gravels help keep spawning beds alive and ensure hatching of the next generation.

Coho Salmon

(Oncorynchus kisutch)

Coho or silver salmon are generally silver in color with dark spots confined to the back and upper lobe of the tail fin.

During spawning, the lower body color changes to red, especially in males. As in all spawning, male Pacific salmon, the upper jaw develops a distinct hook. Tails are noticeably forked when the fish are younger but may develop to nearly square at maturity. Teeth are set in whitish gums in a gray or black mouth.

㌀ 䈀刀䔀圀䔀刀䤀䔀匀 䘀伀伀䐀 䴀唀匀䤀䌀 㘀 䌀䤀䐀䔀刀䤀䔀匀

伀䌀吀伀䈀䔀刀 ㈀ ☀ ㌀Ⰰ ㈀ ㄀㔀

䠀椀猀琀漀爀椀挀 倀漀爀琀 漀昀 䄀渀愀挀漀爀琀攀猀 䔀瘀攀渀琀 䌀攀渀琀攀爀 ㄀ 䌀漀洀洀攀爀挀椀愀氀 䄀瘀攀渀甀攀 䄀一䄀䌀伀刀吀䔀匀⸀伀刀䜀⼀䈀䔀䔀刀 ㌀㘀 ⸀㈀㤀㌀⸀㜀㤀㄀㄀

Spawn Oct-Jan

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

23

the rivers followed by hundreds of hungry bald eagles. As salmon reach tionship of plants and wildlife within the end of their life cycle, their rotting the landscape, creating a rich tapestry carcasses are left behind as food for the eagles and as rich nutrients benof life. efiting many inhabitants of the river Abundant Wildlife and riparian forest lining the banks.

A dramatic event unfolds each It’s common to see forest-dwelling year as spawning salmon return to black-tailed deer browse for nettles, cont. from pg.23

huckleberries and other plants and shrubs. While visiting the upper reaches of the river system you may see black bear feeding on salmon along the sand bars or a beaver gathering sticks and mud for his home. Great blue herons live alongside ravens, crows, owls and osprey.

Freshwater marshes are a haven for whistling and trumpeter swans.

The 8,000-acre Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area is dedicated to habitat protection, conservation and

educational efforts. This special area is an example of the Forest Service working with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and other partners to conserve natural resources along the river.

Bald eagles are seen from late December through early February.

During this period the Eagle Watchers Program, sponsored by the Forest Service and North Cascades Institute, provides hosts at designated sites along the river who assist with viewing these magnificent birds. You can also learn more at the annual Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival or at the Skagit River Interpretive Center.

By Loren Everest, Fisheries Program Manager, Forest Service, Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest

Proud Sponsor Pink Salmon

(Oncorynchus gorbuscha) Â The pink or humpy salmon is the smallest of the Pacific salmon due to a two-year life cycle. The body is dark blue-black with silver sides and heavy oval spots on tail and upper body, with very small scales.

During spawning, the body of males develops a distinct dorsal hump; the color changes to pale red mixed with olive-brown blotches.

Spawn Sept-Oct

24

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

How to Be a Salmon Friendly Gardener Welcome back a good neighbor

areas washed away, filled with silt from erosion, replaced by lawns or almon are the ultimate in loyal contaminated with pesticides. Our neighbors. They swim thousands landscaping practices are an imof miles through the ocean, past portant part of the changes around predators and fishing nets, around Puget Sound that threaten salmon locks and other barriers, to return with extinction. The way we garden where they hatched and spawn a can make a real difference in pronew generation...right in our backviding our salmon neighbors with a yards! Unfortunately, when salmon healthy place to come home. arrive they may find their spawning

S

Every gardener can make a difference

Whether your garden is two feet or two miles from the nearest stream, lake or Puget Sound, it affects salmon. Everything that runs off your property into storm drains eventually washes through cont. on pg.26

Sockeye Salmon

(Oncorynchus nerka) Â The sockeye or kokanee (when landlocked) has a greenish-blue back and dorsal fin with silver sides, and a few tiny specks on the back.

During spawning the overall body color changes to bright red, especially in males, and the head is a greenish olive.

Spawn Aug-Nov

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

25

cont. from pg.25

their habitat. Excess storm water running off pavement or compacted soil harms salmon habitat. Residues of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals may harm young salmon.

And inefficient irrigation wastes water, leaving less in rivers for

salmon to swim and spawn. Better garden design and care can preserve habitat, reduce runoff, keep harmful chemicals out of the water and conserve water. Every time we plant, mow, fertilize, water or control pests in our gardens we can choose methods that aid salmon recovery.

Salmon Friendly Gardens are

beautiful, healthy and easy to maintain Salmon Friendly Gardens work with natural processes to grow healthy plants with minimal irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides.

In addition to keeping the water clean and protecting habitat, Salmon Friendly Gardens can save you time and money.

Build healthy soil with compost Compost helps grow healthy plants using less water, fertilizer and pesticides. It helps soil absorb and store water, and purifies runoff.

• Mix two to four inches of compost into the top six to eight inches of soil when planting.

• Mulch garden beds annually with compost, leaves or wood chips.

• Topdress and aerate lawns. Spread up to one-half inch of compost on

Chum Salmon

(Oncorynchus keta)

The chum or dog salmon most closely resembles the sockeye, but has no specks on its back, silver sides, or on its fins. The tips of the lower fins are black and the base of the tail is slender.

During spawning the body color is dark olive dorsally with pale red (purple) sides mixed with olivegreen blotches. The tips of the lower fins turn white.

Spawn Nov-Jan

26

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

lawns. Core aerate to get compost and water down to roots.

• Leave clippings on the lawn.

• Compost garden and kitchen wastes at home.

Choose the right plant for the right place Proper plant selection will enhance habitat and reduce your need to irrigate or use chemicals.

• Choose plants adapted to your garden conditions.

• Plant pest and disease resistant varieties to reduce the need for chemicals.

• Go Native! Native plants thrive with little care, in the right conditions.

• Minimize lawn areas. Most trees, shrubs and groundcovers need less water and fertilizer.

Use water wisely Efficient irrigation keeps water in lakes and rivers for salmon and prevents plant problems.

• Water deeply but infrequently to grow deep roots and prevent disease. Soak the roots, then let the top few inches of soil dry before watering again.

• Use soaker hoses and drip irrigation. Grow healthier plants with at least 50 percent less water.

Use natural fertilizers and pest controls Nurture soil and garden life that keep plants healthy.

• Use “natural organic” or “slowrelease” fertilizers. They last longer, enhance soil life and don’t wash off into streams as easily.

• Manage bad bugs with traps, barriers and “least toxic” pesticides to protect natural predators and other essential garden life.

Proud SPAWNsor of the Skagit River Salmon Festival Oct. 3 Spawner Survey workshop

Volunteers trained to help count salmon returning to local creeks

Oct. 10, Salmon Sightings Tour

Join us to observe salmon returning to spawn in our watersheds.

Oct. 31, Nov. 7, 14, 21 Saturday Work Parties.

Plant native trees and shrubs along local waterways.

Learn more at www.skagitfisheries.org 360-336-0172

Help Save Salmon, Become a Volunteer

• Think twice before using “weed and feed” and other herbicides.

Pull weeds or “spot spray” to minimize herbicide use.

Direct rain water appropriately

Enhance your garden’s ability to • Choose plants that need little or no filter pollutants and prevent excesirrigation. sive runoff.

• Group plants with similar watering needs and water appropriately.

goskagit.com

cont. on pg.28

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

27

• Plant and preserve a buffer of native trees, shrubs and groundcovers near streams and lakes. They prevent erosion, attract beneficial insects, and provide shade and shelter for salmon. Wider buffers are better, especially where slopes are steep.

cont. from pg.27

• Use porous materials in place of pavement. Gravel paths and drives, stepping stones in grass, bricks or flagstones in sand and wood decks all reduce runoff.

• Direct runoff into grassy swales, lawns, garden beds or rain gardens • Preserve streams and their buffer as part of new landscapes. to percolate into the soil.

• Minimize bulkheads, docks and • Plant trees! Trees catch rain and other structures. Structures delet it evaporate before it reaches grade habitat and often worsen the ground. erosion.

• Save native soil! Disturb as little native soil as possible during new • Consult professionals. Plan erosion controls with a civil engineer, construction. Stockpile topsoil hydrologist or landscape architect. when grading or excavating and reuse it for planting. Protect shore- Sometimes native plants are the best solution for stabilizing slopes. line habitat Preserve and enhance natural vegetation and beaches to Courtesy of City of Seattle Public create conditions salmon prefer.

Utilities and permission of Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group.

is a proud SPAWNsor of the

Skagit River Salmon Festival

1215 Anderson Road, Mount Vernon, WA 98274 • 360.424.3251 • goskagit.com

28

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Test Your Knowledge 1. The Skagit River supports the largest wintering population of what bird in the continental United States?

A. Trumpter Swans B. Snow Geese C. Seagulls D. Bald Eagles D. Bald eagles feed on chum and coho salmon that have returned to the Skagit and its tributaries to spawn. The eagles arrive in late October or early November and stay into February.

2. How much water flows through the Skagit River every day?

A. 10 Million Gallons B. 10 Billion Gallons C. 1 Billion Gallons D. A lot.

B. 10 billion gallons of water is drained every day from over 2,900 streams in the Skagit River watershed. Enough to fill 500,000 swimming pools.

3. Can you name the five salmon species found in the Skagit River?

Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), Pink (Humpie),

Chum and Sockeye (Kokanee, Red). The Skagit is the only large river system in Washington that contains healthy populations of all five native salmon species and two species of trout— steelhead and cutthroat.

4. The Skagit River basin has supported human populations for how long?

A. 400 years B. 2,000 years C. 11,000 years D. A long time C. People have lived in present-day Skagit County and its environs for over 11,000 years. Today, there are over 118,000 people living in the county including the Indian tribal communities of the Swinomish, Upper Skagit, Sauk-Suiattle and Samish.

5. Can you name the hydroelectric dams located on the Skagit River?

The Diablo, Ross and Gorge hydroelectric dams, which are built above a natural barrier to salmon, supply about 25 percent of the city of Seattle’s power demands. Puget Sound Energy’s Upper Baker and Lower Baker Dams are located on a tributary of the Skagit River. The dams’ reservoirs, Baker Lake and Lake Shannon, are

fed by runoff from the flanks of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan.

6. How many different kinds of wildlife species live in the Skagit River watershed?

A. 50 B. 102 C. 276 D. 400 C. Not including humans, the Skagit watershed is the home to approximately 276 wildlife species—25 fish, 17 amphibians, 10 reptiles, 73 mammals & 174 birds.

7. True or False: The Skagit River is the longest river on the west coast of the United States?

A. True B. False B False. The Skagit River is more than 160 miles long and the third largest river on the West Coast after the Columbia and Sacramento rivers. It provides about 30 percent of the fresh water flowing into Puget Sound and it’s a main source of our drinking water for Skagit County residents. It’s also home to about 30 percent of all salmon entering Puget Sound.

Proudly fueling life in the Pacific Northwest

T

Puget Sound Refinery

he Shell Puget Sound Refinery proudly fuels life in the Pacific Northwest. Roughly 470 Shell employees work at our refinery, producing fuel products that support a high quality of life for our employees, customers, and community.

O

ur employees do more than just make gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. They coach and umpire youth sports, they support community art and dance, they volunteer in our schools and much more.

W

hether through creating the critical fuel products that people depend on, the hundreds of family-wage jobs that help drive our local economy, the respectful stewardship of the environment we all enjoy, or by supporting and engaging with the community we love, we are honored to be your neighbor, and to call Skagit County our home.

O

n behalf of Shell Puget Sound Refinery, we are proud to join in celebrating the 4th Annual Skagit River Salmon Festival!

goskagit.com

www.shell.us/psr

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

29

Skagit Valley Herald Coloring Contest

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Age:__________ Phone or Email: ____________________________________________________________________ Submit your entry at the Skagit Publishing booth at the Skagit River Salmon Festival (Saturday, September 12, 10am to 7pm) or to Skagit Publishing, (1215 Anderson Rd., P.O. Box 578, Mount Vernon, WA 98274) via mail or in person prior to Friday, September 11, 5pm. Winning entries will be printed in the Skagit Valley Herald. Must be 14 years or younger to enter.

Coloring Page Artwork provided by: Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group

30

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

Skagit Publishing LLC

goskagit.com

Working together

to conserve the resources of our mighty

SKAGIT

Your local POWER & WATER Utilities Proud spawnsors of the Skagit River Salmon Festival

goskagit.com

Skagit Publishing LLC

Skagit River Salmon Festival 2015

31

SWINOMISH HONORS THE SACRED SALMON with all of you, who help to ensure that this mighty resource is here for generations to come.

W

e are honored to be a leading partner who is committed to restoring and protecting the salmon. Just as

our Children do, the salmon need just a few important elements to survive: an abundance of clean water and a healthy home and habitat. Swinomish People have lived in the Skagit for over 10,000 years, and it has been our sacred responsibility to ensure that our ancestral lands, waters and resources are sustained, so that our children’s children will have an opportunity to live the life we know and love in the Skagit.

The Northwest has a wonderful golden star in the Lower 48, and we need to work together to restore and protect our salmon.

FACT: The Skagit is the only river in the lower 48 that spawns all five species of wild salmon.

Photo Courtesy of Swinomish Tribe

We must stand together and shout to the World our message, “Salmon is important to the people who call Skagit their home and it is an element that sustains a way of life for many people. Not to have that salmon would be tragic.”

Photo by: John Scurlock Courtesy of Swinomish Tribe

May the Creator bless you all for your kindness and consideration. ~ Chairman Brian Cladoosby For more information contact: www.swinomish-nsn.gov Chairman Brian Cladoosby, bcladoosby@swinomish.nsn.us (360) 708-7533 Debra Lekanof, Government Affairs, dlekanof@swinomish.nsn.us (360) 391-5296