Moving earth: Restoration underway on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie

The dirt is finally moving. After months of advocacy, planning, and scoping, the machines are here. True, we don't usually like to see dump trucks and bulldozers amid the beauty of our national forests--but there are exceptions. In this case, the heavy machinery, under the guidance of the Skagit River System Cooperative, will be restoring damaged habitat in the Suiattle watershed not far from Darrington. Once completed, the water will flow like it used to, and the old road, now closed and much overgrown, will serve as an unmaintained trail. The restoration of an inner gorge site along Huckleberry Road will keep sediment from flowing downhill into the Suiattle River, which provides habitat for the newly listed spring chinook.