Mining, Damming, and Donut Holes

HIGH IN BRITISH Columbia’s Cascade Mountains, 100 miles east of Vancouver, an infant Skagit River bubbles to life. More of a mountain brook, it trickles west following Highway 3 until its confluence with the eastbound Sumallo River turns it south, transforming the Skagit into a perfect freestone. Meandering through a glacial-carved valley toward the 49th parallel, the river continues into Washington State, emerging from the Cascades under the turbid influence of the Sauk. Pushing west and gaining volume from the 30-mile-long Baker, the hefty Skagit—now familiar as the famous salmon and steelhead river, and the only river in the state containing chinook, coho, sockeye, pink, and chum salmon—continues through bluecollar towns and fertile farmland before finally spilling into Puget Sound.

Over the course of history, this 150-mile-long river of many personalities has been targeted for the power it produces, the fish it nurtures, and the forests it holds close. To satiate those desires, dams have been poured and fish have been squandered, but in a recent about-face win for the trees, British Columbia forest minister Doug Donaldson announced on December 4, 2019 that his government would curb timber harvest in an area known as “The Donut Hole.” This