The Samish/Swede Creek Beaver Fence Removal project is located at the confluence of the two water bodies near Sedro-Wooley off of Grip Road. The land upon which the project is located was acquired by the Skagit Land Trust (SLT) in 1996, and later enrolled in a CREP project that involved planting conifer trees along the Samish River and Swede Creek. The subsequent colonization of the area by beaver prompted SLT to erect beaver fences to protect the planting. Beaver dams on Swede Creek then flooded much of the area, and large parts of the CREP planting zone were no longer suitable for the conifer trees planted there. The objective of the project was to 1) Remove trapped debris and restore natural flow paths by removing the old beaver fencing 2) Restore riparian habitat adjacent to the Samish River-Swede Creek confluence with the removal of invasive species and the planting of new native ones.

This project included the clearing of approximately 3,600 feet of beaver fencing that had trapped debris, blocked natural flow paths, and was no longer functioning to protect the plantings. Plants that were suitable for the frequently flooded hydrologic regime of the adjacent land were be installed in 2 locations covering approximately 1.15 acres. The installed plants included willow stakes, sweetgale, spirea, red osier dogwood and scattered black cottonwood, western red cedar and sitka spruce. All plants were protected with Miricle tubes or spiral wraps; cottonwood and western red cedar were protected with chicken-wire caging to prevent predation by beavers. Maintenance will continue through 2014.

Final designs and permit documents were developed for this project as part a Department of Ecology grant (WA120309-6-10). The Samish/Swede Creek Beaver Fence Removal design project was lead by Skagit County Public Works (SCPW) in partnership with Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group (SFEG) with the goal of design and permitting restoration actions to improve riparian habitat. This project was part of the Skagit County Natural Resource Stewardship Program.