The Port of Everett and its partner, Wildlands, propose to construct the Blue Heron Slough Conservation Bank project by restoring tidal and riverine physical processes on approximately 354 acres in Snohomish County, Washington. The purpose of the proposed project is to restore the diked and drained land to a mosaic of estuarine mudflats, tidal marshes, and riparian habitats, and enhanced existing habitats. The site will be put into permanent conservation by recording a permanent conservation easement over the property. The general restoration design involves reconstructing an interior slough network that will traverse the entire site; re-sculpting some site topography to create an array of tidal habitats; removing sections of the perimeter dike system, a tide gate, and pilings along Steamboat and Union Sloughs; and enhancing native habitats on the remaining dike segments. The newly restored channels will provide habitat for migrating and resident fish, large woody debris will be strategically installed to create fish refugia, the restoration of estuarine habitat will contribute critical components to the aquatic food chain, and the permanent protection of these tidally influenced habitats will provide long-term watershed benefits. The project will provide compensation for impacts to salmon and steelhead. The project was developed under guidance from endangered species recovery planning efforts for Chinook salmon and bull trout in Puget Sound and the Snohomish River Estuary. Restoration activities at the site will increase the tidally-influenced acreage in the Snohomish River Estuary by about 13 percent. This area is considered to be of high value as a saltwater transition zone and rearing area for juvenile salmonids. The location of the project (formerly known as Biringer Farm) was identified in the Snohomish Basin Salmon Conservation Plan (Snohomish Basin Salmon Recovery Forum 2005) and in the Snohomish Estuary Wetland Integration Plan's Salmon Overlay as a high priority for tidal habitat restoration in the Snohomish Estuary. The Snohomish County Shoreline Management Plan Restoration Element identifies the Project as a "Future Priority Project" in a list of Estuary Restoration Projects. Additionally, the Port Gardner Bay Natural Resources Damage Trustee Counsel identified the Blue Heron Slough project in a Restoration and Environmental Assessment (December 2016) as the preferred restoration alternative for restoring injured natural resources in the Port Gardner Bay.


Reconnect and enhance approximately 320 acres of off-channel habitat, 13,500 ft of edge habitat restoration through hydrologic and sediment process restorationand riparian enhancement. The project requires a short cross dike of 4,232 ft.