Seattle City Light used this funding to acquirethe Guse property, a 60-acre parcel located on the mainstem Sauk River (Skagit River basin). The mainstem Sauk River has been classified as a "priority" basin by the Skagit Watershed Council for salmon habitat restoration and protection projects. The property, which is located about six miles northeast of the town of Darrington, was purchased on a fee simple basis. The property is situated in a section of the river which has undergone numerous channel avulsions (i.e., movement of the main channel) in recent years. Approximately 70 percent of the property is situated within the active floodplain. The section of the river within which the property is located is considered to possess natural functioning conditions, since there are no dikes, levees, or bank armoring projects present in the vicinity of the project. The property contains numerous high-quality side channels, which provide important habitat to juvenile Chinook and steelhead, adult and juvenile coho, and adult pink and chum salmon. These side channel areas also serve as foraging areas for subadult and adult bull trout. The property contains an estimated 18 acres of side channels. The river channel is bordered by a mixed riparian forest. The level of impairment to riparian vegetation on the property is low. This section of the Sauk River is used by lower Sauk summer Chinook, upper Sauk spring Chinook, and Suiattle spring Chinook.