Why this tribe is buying up hundreds of acres of farmland — and flooding it
The Stillaguamish Tribe is purchasing farmland and removing levees to restore tidal wetlands at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River in Washington. This effort aims to revive Chinook salmon populations, which are vital to the tribe's culture and are now federally threatened. The restored wetlands also provide broader ecological benefits, supporting shorebirds and reconnecting the river to its natural floodplain.
- ▪The Stillaguamish Tribe has bought 2,000 acres of land over the past 15 years to restore fish and wildlife habitat.
- ▪In 2025, only 26 Chinook salmon were allocated for the entire tribe's harvest due to critically low returns.
- ▪The tribe removed a two-mile earthen levee in October 2025, allowing tidal waters to flood 230 acres of former farmland.
- ▪The restored wetland, named zis a ba 2, honors a 19th-century Stillaguamish chief and is the second of three planned marsh restoration sites.
- ▪Under the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, the Stillaguamish retained fishing rights despite ceding most of their ancestral land.
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Climate Why this tribe is buying up hundreds of acres of farmland — and flooding it May 3, 20265:00 AM ET By John Ryan A new levee built by the Stillaguamish Tribe, left, separates farmland from newly restored wetlands at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Stanwood, Washington, on April 8, 2026. Megan Farmer /KUOW hide caption toggle caption Megan Farmer /KUOW Scott Boyd walks through deep mud where the Stillaguamish River empties into Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. This flood-prone river mouth north of Seattle changed dramatically in October when the Stillaguamish Tribe removed two miles of earthen levee. The ridge of dirt kept the river and the tides from spreading onto nearby farmland.
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