A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia studying pikas with help from a Seattle City Light grant issued under the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project Wildlife Research Program has published a scientific paper with its findings about the biodiversity of the tiny mammals.
A research project funded by Seattle City Light is working to answer the question: “How is climate change affecting high elevation mammal populations such as pika?”
The return of summer opens new opportunities for exploring the rugged and beautiful North Cascades, including Ross Lake, which is now open for fishing.
Many Chinook salmon eggs laid in the Skagit River system last fall faced grim prospects for survival amid challenging water conditions. But a coordinated effort by Seattle City Light working with state and federal resource agencies and tribes along with an exceptionally wet March and April gave more than 300,000 of them the chance to grow up.
Fish biologists, power marketers and hydro operators at the Skagit performed a carefully orchestrated dance between July 15 and 17 to prepare the Gorge Dam spill gates for an inspection, seal rehabilitation, and a new coat of paint.
A new 1.5 mile loop trail along the Sauk River near Darrington is now available thanks to Seattle City Light funding that is part of the utility’s license to operate the Skagit Hydroelectric Project.
Seattle City Light is scheduled to rehabilitate two spillgates at Gorge Dam in Newhalem this summer, which will require lowering the water level of Gorge Lake.
Seattle City Light’s Skagit Hydroelectric Project and the recreational opportunities created by the utility in support of those operations contribute at least $500,000 annually to the economies in Skagit and Whatcom Counties.
With the Washington State Department of Transportation hard at work reopening the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20), North Cascades National Park Complex is ready to welcome you.
Technology is providing Seattle City Light a better understanding of the wildlife that lives on some of the utility’s property in the Skagit River watershed.
