This agreement provides funding to the sauk-suiattle tribe to coordinate habitat restoration efforts throughout the skagit river watershed to help clean up and restore the health of puget sound

The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe received a $600,000 Cooperative Agreement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 under the Geographic Programs - Puget Sound Protection and Restoration: Tribal Implementation Assistance Program (CFDA 66.121), effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2030. This award supports the tribe's coordination of habitat restoration efforts throughout the Skagit River Watershed to advance ecosystem recovery and protection consistent with the Puget Sound Action Agenda. The tribe will identify and manage Skagit River Watershed Council restoration and water quality projects, with specific focus on surveying and treating 40 miles of Sauk River and 9 miles of Skagit River floodplain riparian habitat to protect against knotweed infestations. The tribe's staff will also coordinate field work, manage water quality data, attend policy meetings regarding habitat restoration, and complement broader Puget Sound tribal implementation initiatives.

Deliverables under this agreement include annual reports describing priority restoration actions, written summaries of salmon habitat restoration meetings, documentation of annual activities, and maps and videos depicting habitat management along the Sauk-Suiattle River. These products are intended to support chinook and other salmonid species recovery critical to tribal members and the broader region. No sub-awards are included in this assistance agreement, and all work will be performed at the Sauk-Suiattle Reservation in Darrington, Washington.

The tribe will determine priority restoration projects within the watershed and implement them. Funding will also be used to continue the staff work in coordinating sauk-suiattle field work and water quality data management for puget sound tribal implementation projects and to complement puget sound partnership action agenda actions.activities:the tribe's staff will identify and manage skagit river watershed council (SWC) restoration and water quality projects. Forty miles of sauk river and 9 miles of skagit river floodplain riparian habitat will be surveyed and treated to protect against knotweed infestations. The staff will attend policy meetings regarding SWC habitat restoration in the skagit river watershed.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include annual reports describing priority restoration actions in the skagit river watershed and written summaries of meetings regarding salmon habitat restoration. The staff will prepare written summaries of annual activities and create maps and videos of habitat management along sauk-suiattle river. Chinook and other salmonid species important to sauk-suiattle tribal members and the tribal members will benefit from the planning, development and coordination of riparian habitat restoration projects throughout the skagit river watershed.