Skagit River System Cooperative

Skagit River System Cooperative, a tribal government and American Indian-owned natural resource management organization based in La Conner, Washington, operates as a federal grant recipient providing salmon habitat restoration, fisheries research, and ecosystem recovery services to NOAA, the EPA, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Interior across the Puget Sound region. The cooperative serves the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe and has received 55 prime federal grants and 19 sub-awards totaling $35.3 million obligated across recent years, with work concentrated on fish passage infrastructure, tidal marsh and estuary restoration, and tribal capacity building for environmental stewardship.

NOAA dominates the customer base, accounting for 31 awards with $10.2 million combined potential value, centered on the Habitat Conservation program (CFDA 11.463) and related cooperative agreements. Representative prime grants include a $4.2 million NOAA cooperative agreement (October 2026–September 2029) to rebuild a county road and construct a 105-foot bridge providing fish access to a restored 17-acre tidal marsh and 0.2 miles of coastal stream in La Conner, a $3.3 million NOAA award (August 2024–December 2027) to remove or replace seven culverts blocking fish passage in the Skagit and Samish watersheds, and a $656 thousand NOAA grant (January 2025–December 2028) to restore streamside habitat and upgrade a native plant nursery supporting tribal restoration capacity. The EPA Region 10 holds nine awards, with a $600 thousand cooperative agreement (October 2025–September 2030) under the Geographic Programs – Puget Sound Protection and Restoration program (CFDA 66.121) to coordinate habitat restoration, conduct fisheries research, and develop recovery plans for Chinook and Steelhead in the Whidbey Basin. The Department of the Navy Naval Facilities Engineering Command and the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs each hold seven awards, including the Navy's $420 thousand award for natural resources internships on threatened and endangered species and the Interior's awards supporting tribal fish passage and habitat initiatives.

In its sub-recipient role, Skagit River System Cooperative delivers estuary restoration effectiveness monitoring and chinook recovery research under pass-through awards from the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Recreation & Conservation Office, and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Activity has tracked at 2–11 awards annually over the past five years, with only one award completing in the next twenty-four months. The cooperative's work sits exclusively within grant-funded habitat restoration and fisheries science rather than federal contracting, with NAICS coding concentrated on Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services and PSC categories skewed toward Special Studies/Analysis in animal, fisheries, and environmental assessment domains, alongside Direct Aid to Tribal Governments (Public Law 93-638) social support services.