Skagit County OKs MOU to coordinate major ESA recovery projects with tribes and districts

Skagit County commissioners on April 13 voted to approve a memorandum of understanding designed to coordinate major Endangered Species Act (ESA) recovery-plan projects that involve county and district infrastructure, county Attorney Will Hoehne told the board.

Hoehne said the agreement would bring together the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, three Skagit treaty tribes, local dike and drainage districts and the county in a formal working group to "strategically prioritize and coordinate major project action to achieve federally adopted Endangered Species Act recovery goals," language he read from the MOU.

The MOU, Hoehne told commissioners, responds to governance and permitting problems that have left infrastructure managers without a clear forum to plan, seek permits and act quickly. He cited projects identified in the Chinook recovery plan that will require large civil works and that often intersect with prime farmland protected by the county’s off-site compensatory mitigation ordinance.

"These projects are major civil works," Hoehne said, and the county needs a structure for local and tribal governments to coordinate decisions that have regulatory implications and affect infrastructure. The agreement, he said, does not relinquish county authorities but is intended to create a practical venue to prioritize projects and deploy available funding effectively.

Hoehne noted funding sources tied to the FERC relicensing settlement — including money from Seattle City Light — and other programs such as Floodplains by Design and U.S. Fish and Wildlife grants. He said those funds make it important to have a clear governance structure to ensure multi-benefit outcomes: recovery goals met, infrastructure improved and farmland loss minimized.

Commissioner Browning moved to approve the miscellaneous agenda item presenting the MOU; another commissioner seconded. Chair called the vote and recorded ayes; the motion passed.

Next steps: Hoehne said most districts have already signed the agreement and WDFW has verbally committed; at the time of the hearing one tribe’s signature (Swinomish) was not yet on the document but Hoehne expected their leadership would sign. The board did not set additional conditions at the meeting.

This action creates a formal coordination path intended to ease permitting and project deployment for ESA recovery work that intersects county and district infrastructure and agricultural land.