The struggle to save both in Washington's Skagit Valley
The fight over water in the Skagit Valley
Unsung heroes: microorganisms in Washington's soil
Pinehurst's old-school Jewish deli that is a huge local favorite
Games and puzzles related to this issue
In 1863, a homesteader named Samuel Calhoun moved to the Skagit Valley of northwestern Washington with an audacious plan: he would settle in a marshy tidal flat – which was underwater for about half of the year. His plan was that, with some sweat and a strong shovel, he would build a network of earthen dams (called dikes) to hold back the seawater and make the land farmable. This was a common practice in New Brunswick, Canada, where he had learned it in his childhood. When he arrived on the coast, he discovered, to his surprise, that he wasn’t alone. His new neighbor, Michael Sullivan, had already begun clearing and diking his own claim. The two men joined forces, doing backbreaking labor in the mud during low tide. Their brute strength and progress revealed what would eventually become some of the most productive farmland in the world. The Skagit Valley possesses a perfect combination
of elements that make for great farming: rich soils, plentiful rainwater water, and a perfectly mild maritime climate.
The Skagit Valley has been primarily a farming community ever since, and in the 150+ years since those first settlers started building dikes, the region has truly blossomed. Today about 90,000 acres in the floodplain are classified as farmland, and Skagit County produces more than $366 million worth of agricultural products, around 3% of Washington state's total agricultural sales annually. There are 882 farms in the county, and the majority of them are small farms with less than 50 acres. These farms produce locally grown potatoes, berries, fruits, milk, and vegetables for Seattle and the region. Some farms, like Boldly Grown near Bow, are small and use organic practices, while others are larger and use
traditional methods.
The wild and beautiful Skagit River flows from headwaters in the Canadian Rockies and meanders through all that productive farmland. It is not only a source of plentiful irrigation water for those farmers, but is also the home of one of the largest salmon runs in Washington. The Skagit is the last river system in the Lower 48 to bolster all five Pacific salmon species and steelhead that still return here to spawn. Initiatives to protect the health of those salmon have come to the forefront in recent years, bringing a string of legal and legislative challenges to the region.
Water – and who is responsible for it – has been
the defining issue in the Skagit since those very first dikes were constructed.
Some see water issues as a battle between farmers, advocacy groups, tribal authorities, and legislators, but in fact, everyone wants the same thing. Every farmer in Skagit County and every lawmaker in Olympia wants for salmon to flourish in the Skagit and for farmers to continue to feed the world from the valley’s rich soil. But when the conversation turns to the best way to accomplish those goals, not everyone sees eye to eye.
For instance, the term “riparian buffer zone” has been used by state officials for decades and suggests that landowners should plant and maintain a border of trees and shrubs on the banks of a waterway. These vegetated buffers create shade that helps keep water temperatures from getting lethally warm for salmon, along with other benefits for fish habitat. In recent years, tribal authorities and advocacy groups, along with some Washington legislators, have tried to create those buffer zones along the Skagit River. In 2008, state officials set a lofty goal: replanting buffers along 100% of the Skagit and its tributaries by 2020 to rein in high temperatures by 2080. The state, however, never fully funded the effort. As of 2020, about 8% of stream miles had been replanted.
In December, then-Governor Jay Inslee signed a new executive order focused on restoring riparian habitats along the Columbia River. Farmers in the Skagit Valley are worried that a similar statewide executive order, using eminent domain, could rob them of their rights and their land. New recommendations from Washington’s Riparian Buffer Task Force states that riparian zones should be implemented on both fish-bearing and non-fishbearing waterways. If these recommendations are implemented, it could lead to forced buffer zones on many urban and rural waterways, whether they carry fish in them or not. The recommendations also include buffers in excess of 200 feet in many areas. Farmers and some social scientists argue that these recommendations lack the site-specific research and landowner involvement necessary to truly improve the rivers and fish habitat. Washington's landscapes and climate are too diverse for a one-size-fits-all approach. Many stakeholders recognize that the solution must follow a local, collaborative approach that is fully funded.
Another regular area of scrutiny and debate is “fecal coliform,” which is a scientific term for bacteria found in poop and its presence in local water bodies. The Washington Department of Ecology first confirmed the presence of fecal coliform in Padilla Bay in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when four local tributaries were put on a list of impaired water sources. In the years since, fecal coliform has been identified as another issue that affects the salmon population of the Skagit watershed.
A report from the Padilla Bay Tributary Fecal Coliform Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) identified six major sources of fecal coliform bacteria: residential and business septic systems, livestock, stormwater, human sources such as hikers or campers, pet waste, and wildlife. But dairy farmers feel like they’ve been unfairly singled out and forced to implement expensive equipment like anaerobic manure digesters and other expensive practices.
Locating and fixing large sources of fecal pollution has significantly reduced pollution levels, but the team at the Skagit Conservation District (SCD) are constantly monitoring for fecal coliform and experimenting with new mitigation strategies. One such example is a UV filtering system, which theoretically uses UV light to kill any harmful fecal coliform bacteria in the water.
“Our idea is to get a solar panel pump and run it through a UV filter and see if the water that is pumped has less or no fecal coliform,” said SCD conservation specialist Taylor Scott. “If experiments are successful, we can implement them around the state. Our river systems really coincide with our farming, and we want to keep them as clean as we can.”
Conservation districts throughout the state have been working with farmers and landowners to voluntarily implement locally led conservation strategies for decades. Whether the land is urban or rural, local conservation districts serve as a link to local expertise and funding available to landowners who want to keep working lands and waterways thriving. Productive fields and streams can co-exist in Washington by consistently funding locally led, site-specific, and voluntary measures. We can have both.
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S&B FARMS MOUNT VERNON
delicate dance the
“What has been proposed would take half the land that we farm out of production. I don’t know a single farmer that could survive that.”
Fifth-generation farmer Carl Hausauer squints in the bright sunlight and points toward a massive field of thigh-high green plants dotted with purple and white blossoms. At the base of these luscious plants, growing under the soil, are thousands and thousands of potato tubers.
“It’s like your babies out there,” he says. “All the work that goes into them, all the hours you spend out here. It’s fun to watch them grow, and when harvest season comes around, it’s just such a good feeling to put them in that shed.”
Hausauer walks the Washington Grown team through his family’s Mount Vernon farm, S&B Farms, alongside his aunt, Jenn Smith. The farm’s 1,500 acres include fields of wheat, spinach seed, and potatoes, and in 1998, the farm partnered with Morrison Farms to create the Smith and Morrison Farms packing facility, where they sell potatoes under the brand Skagit Valley’s Best Produce.
Hausauer and Smith said neither of them had planned to be potato farmers. Smith grew up on a dryland wheat farm
in Eastern Washington but didn’t think she’d go into farming until she married her husband, Brad, who also works on the farm. Hausauer had originally trained to be an elementary school teacher. But now they’re here, representing the fourth and fifth generations to farm this land.
Hausauer digs up a few baby potatoes to show the Washington Grown team.
“How close before these are ready?” asks Washington Grown host Tomás Guzmán, holding up a handful of small yellow potatoes covered in soil.
“Quite a ways,” says Hausauer.
“So they’re going to get much bigger than this?” Guzmán asks.
“We hope so,” Hausauer says, adding that he hopes this will be a good year for potatoes. “You know, you don’t really know until you get down there and dig around.”
“Plants do crazy things,” says Smith, laughing.
Farming can be an unpredictable vocation, with so much depending on outside factors like weather or pests. In addition, farmers often need to contend with policy changes that could affect their practices and land, which is something the folks at S&B Farms are wrestling with now.
A 2024 report by the Washington State Riparian Task Force recommended many changes that have concerned farmers. The focus of the task force is to propose policies and funding strategies to improve riparian habitats and support the recovery of salmon and steelhead. This includes recommendations on creating riparian buffers — strips of trees, shrubs, and plants along rivers and streams — that can help protect fish populations. But proposals around the recommended width of buffer plantings have drawn criticism.
“What has been proposed would take half the land that we farm out of production,” says Smith. “I don’t know a single farmer that could survive that.”
Smith says she and her family agree that the fish populations need to be protected, but not all ideas make sense. For example, a drainage ditch that doesn’t contain any fish shouldn’t be held to the same standard as a river or stream containing salmon or steelhead.
“There needs to be a lot more conversation,” Smith says. “And there needs to come an agreement where we’re talking about this on fish-bearing waterways, not on irrigation ditches.”
Hausauer agrees. He says protecting water, whether it’s the rivers or the groundwater, is crucial, but the farmers need to be consulted.
“We’re dependent on both of those elements,” he says. “To create a 200-foot buffer on four sides of a field would render it useless; really, you couldn’t farm in there.”
Smith and Hausauer take the Washington Grown team to a part of the property that the farm donated to the Nature Conservancy in Washington as part of its Fisher Slough project.
“My father-in-law donated this land for a salmon habitat project as good faith,” said Smith, “to show that the farmers are here doing what’s right for the environment and trying to be good partners.”
But partnership, collaboration, and communication are key.
“Farmers everywhere are trying to help out,” says Hausauer, “and do what they can to collaborate and help preserve the fish as well.”
MEGA MAZE
Skagit Valley produces almost 95% of U.S. table beet seed (50% of the world supply), 75% of U.S. spinach seed, 25% of global cabbage seed stocks, and more tulip, daffodil, and iris bulbs than any other U.S. county.
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Deli-cious
ZYLBERSCHTEIN’S DELICATESSEN AND BAKERY PINEHURST
When he couldn't find great bagels in Seattle, Josh Grunig decided to make them himself. Now his quirky Pinehurst deli has a devoted local following.
The exterior of Zylberschtein’s Delicatessen and Bakery is simple and unassuming, tucked into a quiet strip mall in Seattle’s Pinehurst neighborhood. There’s not much that would clue you in to the magic inside, other than perhaps the line of customers that frequently forms.
The magic of Zylberschtein’s seems to come down to two local legends: the friendly and gregarious owner, Josh Grunig, and his famous bagels. Grunig is a favorite in the community, a proud Jewish baker bringing all his favorite East Coast deli foods to Seattle. And the bagels, considered among the best in Seattle, have a legion of devoted fans.
“There aren’t too many Jewish delis in this area,” said one customer when the Washington Grown TV crew visited Zylberschtein’s in Season 12. “They make their own bagels, which we order every time we’re here — one of the best bagels in Seattle. They’re crispy on the outside and fluffy inside, with the perfect amount of chew.”
Grunig, the owner and head baker, opened the restaurant in 2019 with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign, in which supporters pledged more than $50,000 to help the restaurant get up and running. Ever since, Zylberschtein’s has been winning over customers with its handmade breads, bagels, doughnuts, sandwiches, and soups.
“Jewish deli food is all about making stuff from scratch, taking humble ingredients and making them taste outstanding,” said Grunig. “Any of the items that we don’t make in-house, we try to seek
out other passionate producers. Everything that we can find of the highest possible quality is going to be from Washington.”
Originally, Grunig had no plans to open a bakery. After an attempt at engineering school left him unsatisfied, a young Grunig found himself living the “snow bum” life in Breckenridge, Colo., chasing powder with friends and trying to make plans for his future. But when he threw an impromptu dinner party for some ski-instructor friends, he had a light-bulb moment.
“I made all these different dishes, and (during the party) I remember looking around a houseful of people, and everyone was enjoying themselves and loving life,” said Grunig during a 2024 Instagram Live Q&A. “I loved being the person providing nourishment and hosting. I think, in that moment, I realized that (feeding people) was my future.”
He decided to go to baking school, where he was able to learn why, exactly, his family recipes worked so well. Then in 2019, he took all that knowledge and passion and took the leap of opening the shop.
“I was looking around trying to find a good bagel in Seattle. I had trouble finding one, so I said, 'I guess I better make them myself.' We’re trying to make food slowly and intentionally — we’re trying to honor the past in that way — so I thought it would be great to use our family name,” he said. After a short pause, he smiled and joked, “My family emigrated from Poland. They thought, what is the longest, most difficult name possible to come up
Complexity: Medium • Time: 3.5 hours • Serves: 8
"Knishes are like a Jewish dumpling," said Josh Grunig, owner of Zylberschtein's Deli in Seattle. "In New York, knishes are often sold from a hot dog stand, where they're kept in a steamer. You can imagine eating it warm, on a cold day outside – and they're so hearty that having one for lunch would carry you through a full day.
This variation has a potato and caramelized onion filling wrapped in a thin dough and baked. Note that it takes a couple of hours for the onions to be well caramelized, and they will reduce down to about 1 cup. Be sure to visit the Washington Grown website to see Josh’s technique for wrapping the knishes.
Ingredients
Knish Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg 1/3 cup water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• Egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
For the dough, stir together the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. In a medium bowl, beat the egg, then stir in the water, olive oil, and vinegar. With the mixer at low speed, add the egg mixture and mix until well blended. Continue mixing until a smooth dough is formed, three to five minutes. Form the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours. The dough can be made up to two days ahead.
For the filling, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and deep golden brown, two to three hours; reduce heat to low if browning too quickly. Set aside to cool.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes, and simmer over medium heat until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and mash a bit, leaving them chunky. Add the onions and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir to mix well.
Roll the knish dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a rectangle 12 inches wide and about 32 inches long; it will be quite thin. Cut the dough into eight strips about 4 inches wide.
Place about 3/4 cup of the filling about 1 inch up from the bottom of each strip. Lift and stretch the lower edge of dough up over the filling. Roll the filling up and rotate 90 degrees to one side, tugging gently on the dough as you do, to make it a bit thinner. Continue rolling and rotating the filling up to the end of the strip, fully enclosing it in dough. Tuck the ends under, press the packet to flatten to about 1 inch thick, and round the edges. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and continue with the remaining dough and filling. Freeze the knishes for two hours before baking.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Brush the tops of the knishes with the egg wash and bake until well browned, about 30 minutes.
ZYLBERSCHTEIN’S DELICATESSEN AND BAKERY PINEHURST
ZYLBERSCHTEIN’S
Potato Onion and
Knish
WASHINGTON SOIL HEALTH INITIATIVE
Super Soils
The dirt underfoot is the unsung hero of Washington's agricultural production. The more we understand it, the better we can protect it.
In the fourth century BCE, the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon wrote, “To be a successful farmer, one must first know the nature of the soil.” More than 2,400 years later, we still haven’t uncovered all the mysteries of soil — and a team of researchers here in Washington is dedicated to learning and sharing everything they can about this lifesustaining material.
While we might not think much about the dirt under our feet, soil is crucial for the survival of our ecosystem. It provides nutrients and stability for the plants we grow, regulates the flow of water, filters pollutants, breaks down organic and inorganic materials, and even helps keep our homes standing upright.
“Soil is the foundation of everything we do,” says Gabe LaHue, an assistant professor of soil science at Washington State University (WSU) and a researcher with the Washington Soil Health Initiative (SHI), a partnership between WSU, the state department of agriculture, and the State Conservation Commission.
The initiative’s programs include agricultural research, technical support, and outreach and incentive programs for farmers and growers. In Mount Vernon, LaHue and a team of researchers grow crops and conduct experiments to see how they can improve the soil underfoot.
“We’re tracking the yield and quality of all the crops we’re growing,” says LaHue, whose focus is to make sure the crops that are grown
on the research site use the same techniques that farmers use. “Then every year, we test the soil, and then every four years, we come back, and we do a really intensive sampling. That really helps us get a comprehensive picture.”
Chris Benedict, WSU’s faculty lead for the initiative and a professor at the university’s Whatcom County Extension, says the program looks at long-term practices and opportunities to improve soil health.
“This is big-picture stuff,” Benedict says. “It will give us the ability to really look at what changes in the long term.”
This is especially important in Washington, where our vibrant agricultural community and our specialty crops rely on the state’s rich soil. There are many different types of soil throughout the state, depending on each region’s climate, but one special variety, called Tokul, is one of the most productive soils in the world, thanks to its high amount of volcanic ash. This mineral-rich soil can only be found west of the Cascade Mountains and was named Washington’s official state soil, joining the ranks of the American goldfinch (the state bird) and the western hemlock (the state tree).
Working with soil can be a slow process, said LaHue, but it’s rewarding.
“The whole reason this is a long-term experiment is because soils are slow to change,” he says, “but the exciting thing
is we’re already starting to see some differences.”
Deirdre Griffin LaHue is another researcher at the initiative’s Mount Vernon site and an assistant professor of soil science at WSU. Her interest in soil came, surprisingly, from her background as a dancer.
“I had a previous career in ballet, so there was a career transition, but through that, I got interested in nutrition,” she says. “I realized, through that, I was really interested in where it comes from — from the soil.”
Griffin LaHue’s research mainly focuses on how soil can break down organic matter, and how quickly the organisms growing in the soil can decompose materials. This, in turn, affects how many nutrients are available to the crops growing there. One experiment they use is called the T-shirt test, where two cotton T-shirts are buried in the soil for three weeks before being dug up.
“So I had two T-shirts here that I buried in the soil,” says Griffin LaHue, holding up two plastic bags with labels reading “Fallow Field” and “Alfalfa Field.” “One is from a field that was just left without any crops and was heavily tilled, and one was from a field that had a lot of organic matter input — continuous crops in it.”
Griffin LaHue holds up one of the shirts, which is dirty and has a few small holes throughout but is generally still intact. This shirt was buried in the field without recent crop activity.
“In this field, there was some action going on; there were some holes in that shirt, so they did a pretty good job breaking down,” she says. “But when we unburied
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the one from the other field, this is what we found.”
She then holds up a remnant of a T-shirt that looks like it’s been devoured by a bear: the collar and one sleeve are intact, but the rest of the shirt is in shreds, and large chunks are missing. This shirt was buried in the second field.
“So you can see the organisms in that soil are just ready to break down any residues that are going in, turn it into soil organic matter, turn it into nutrients that crops can then take up and then really benefit the soil.”
The more we know about how these microorganisms and nutrients affect the soil, the more we can use that to grow healthier, more abundant crops, something the team at the Soil Health Initiative knows is crucial for our survival.
“Our ecosystems rely on soil; our food systems rely on soil,” says Griffin LaHue. “Something that’s happening within this little piece of soil can have an impact on the globe.”
The Washington Grown project is made possible by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant program, through a partnership with the state's farmers.
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Deirdre Griffin LaHue (right) shows off a cotton T-shirt that has been buried and partially disintegrated by microorganisms in the soil.
