Hayle Clark

13 March 2015

Washington Fish and Wildlife Sets Meeting on Dike Repairs

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had an open house on February 25, 2015. The open was in Stanwood, Washington where they discussed about a project designed to address chronic dike failures on Leque Island. They have reports that the dike built on the island has many times during the past years and has been very costly to repair. The meeting will give people the opportunity to learn more about the project and what it provides. They will be able to give comments on the six designs. These six designs include the rebuilding dikes or building dike on the island to support several land uses. They have been developing over the past years to input 31- member advisory committees. They own and manage Leque Island as part of the Skagit Wildlife Area and will prefer the design alternative in April. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife owns the entire Leque Island aside from the road right-of ways controlled by DOT. The island is 250 acres and is currently isolated from tidal inundation with dikes that were build back in 1900’s. The breached sections of dike have been repaired but they were a costly construct and they are required to be removed as soon as long-term solutions to the failing dikes are adopted. The WDFW is working with Ducks Unlimited which has acquired for grant funding to conduct analysis and design projects to examine solutions to the failing dikes. The goal they have is to develop and examine the design options for Leque Island. WDFW and DU will come up with other designs and they will be able to predict effects of each design. The designs will be a part of this process that will range from reconstruction of existing dikes to construction of dikes in various setback locations to the removal of the dikes all together. As the project goes on they will report the materials that are generated and they will most them up for everyone to see.