It's really an honor to be here with so many
representatives of both the parties that participated
participated directly in the negotiation as well
as their upper level leadership and representatives
from our congressional offices and many other places like too
many folks here to really name and appreciate for being
here but again thank you to each and every one
of you for for being here today it's an important
day for the Skagit River.
I think we're all aware of how important it is.
This is a groundbreaking event and I'm very excited to be
here with all of you today.
The agreement reflects years of hard work with a lot of entities
but in particular the tribes.
The tribes have put a lot of effort into educating
the city and all the parties around the table
about how important the Skagit River is to their
cultural, spiritual, and economic way of life.
And so with that, I would like to invite the speakers from
the tribes and all the other speakers that we have today
to come and stand up front, and we'll get started with
the remarks for the day.
So first up, I'd like to have Chairman Maltos.
Is Chairman Maltos here from the Sauk-Suiattle tribe?
If not, I'd like to invite Chairman Steve Edwards
up to start our remarks.
And then if all the other speakers who are scheduled
could come and stand up in front of the room.
So sorry about that.
Instead of Chairman Maltos, we have Jack Fiender, who
is the legal counsel for the Sauk-Suiattle Indian tribe.
So, Jack, could you say a few words on
behalf of the Sauk-Suiattle?
Thank you.
Thank you, Seattle.
Well, you're named after us, you know.
Except for the spelling, you're a little off.
For the past seven years,
we've basically been locked in rooms
with the City Light staff.
And I think that's helped our relationship between the
tribes and the city that you're named after.
Through that process, we were able to share
Information, share our skills.
I think mr.
Townsend will agree that -- not to put words in
YOUR MOUTH, CHRIS, BUT I THINK you were impressed with
the capabilities of our tribal staff something
that's been long overlooked which we felt excluded
from for a long time so we really appreciate that
madam mayor for exposing us to your staff because
Because this is the last step of it, but it was that process
That built the relationship of trust that now exists
Between us.
We were able to share our stories with you,
Our concerns and the city's concerns about being able to
Accommodate both our interests because we both share this
Region and we can bring a lot to you.
Tribes like us, especially the Sauk-Suiattle, Mayor, call upon us for
Advice because for many years
We've learned how to keep operating with very little money
AND VERY LITTLE BUDGET TO DO what we need to do.
So call upon us.
We can share with you that information about how
to house your people, things like that.
So that's all I have.
Thank you for attending and thank the federal
people that are all here.
They played a very important role for this
in bringing us to an agreement,
although at the end, every month when we met,
there was one or two less seats over time.
So appreciate, thank you for letting me speak
and thank you on behalf of the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe.
Welcome everybody.
My name is Steve Edwards and I'm the chairman
of the Swinomish Tribe.
Mayor Wilson, I just want to say thank you.
Thank you to you and your staff.
It's been a journey to get to this day.
It's taken us over seven years.
And it may have seemed like a long time, but in all reality,
it's a short period of time.
Because there is a future in the Skagit River that will last
for many, many generations.
Salmon is important to our people.
It's part of our culture.
It's part of our traditions.
It's our identity.
So the seven years of work that we put into this is
going to last for many, many, many generations.
That's the way I look at it.
And I know that's the way my people look at it, our leaders.
That's the way they look at it.
So the seven years we put into it was just a small piece
of what we dedicated our time to.
And I want to thank our staff, thank our leaders,
my leadership, for allowing me to be and my
team to be a part of this negotiation team.
They trusted us.
And I want to thank the state and federal officials, the
tribal leaders, everyone that we sat at the table with.
We've learned a lot from each other.
We built a relationship.
There were good days and there were bad days.
But that's what it takes.
We have the same goal.
We have different ideas.
We got there.
And we're here today for a very, very special
occasion to witness this signing, this agreement.
And, you know, it's really exciting to know
for me personally that my people, our people,
will be able to harvest salmon in the future.
When we first started this, these meetings, I said,
you know, we have to come up with a plan, an agreement.
I don't want my kids, generation, my grandkids,
to read about salmon.
I want them to be able to go out there and harvest salmon.
I don't want this just to be in a storybook.
I want them physically to be able to touch a salmon,
to harvest it themselves.
And I want many generations to be able to do the same, have
that same opportunity that I've had.
You know, I've fished for over 50 years, and it's been great.
A lot of you may never know what it's like to be a fisherman,
but I tell you what, it's It's healing.
It's healing to our people.
You wouldn't understand it, but it really heals
our body, heals our soul.
Every week we feed salmon to our elders.
every Wednesday.
Our elders get salmon.
That's how important it is to us.
Keeping it alive.
Nourishing our elders' bodies.
That's what this is about.
I don't want to benefit PERMIT TODAY, BUT I DEFINITELY
Want my future generations to benefit what is going to
Take place moving forward.
And i hope it doesn't stop here.
I hope these relationships continue to build because this
LICENSE IS FOR 50 YEARS, AND WE And we have to keep
that relationship.
We need to continue to have a seat at the table, voice our
opinions, share our thoughts, work together, be team players.
That's what it's going to take.
Not just with Seattle.
I see some of our county officials here.
and we live in Skagit County we all have to work together
it's gonna take all of us so I thank you for
this day again mayor thank you and your team for
for working with us and I think our tribal leaders as well.
And once again, the state federal officials
for all your hard work and those that are even,
I know we have some team members that aren't here today.
I wanna thank those who that I had the opportunity
who needed work with throughout those seven years as well.
It's not just us.
There are some that aren't at the table today
that made a difference as well, and their voices
were well heard.
So I want to thank them as well.
So thank you all.
Good afternoon.
My name is Scott Schuyler.
I'm a tribal member for the Upper Skagit.
I also am the cultural and policy representative
for natural resources.
Today is a day of reflection for the Upper Skagit people
And a day to give thanks also to reflection on the journey
That it took us to get to this point that brought us right
Here to City Hall with the Mayor's Office,
The City Council.
And we do appreciate everything that's occurred
Over the last eight years.
But this journey actually began 124 years ago for the
Upper Skagit when we were not allowed a voice or a choice
When the first dam was built.
We see redemption today by signing this agreement.
We do have that voice from now on.
And so our our hands go up to all the LPs.
There's too many people, too many faces that i've seen the
Last eight years to thank everybody.
But know that you are appreciated by the tribe, state,
Federal, The NGOs, all the folks that were at the table, the
the tribes to get us to where we are today.
Today is not the day to celebrate for the Upper Skagit.
The celebration will come in the future.
When we see the river return to its banks,
the Upper Skagit people will rejoice and celebrate.
When we see the first salmon pass over the dams
and the dams start contributing to these depressed runs,
then the Upper Skagit will celebrate.
Most of all, the Upper Skagit people
people will celebrate when we return to our home, to Wallop,
thank the mayor, thank the city for building us our meeting
center, a place to gather for our folks.
And it'll be the staging area, we think, ground zero
for this passage, which is going to take a lot of our time
and collective effort to make happen.
There's a lot of work for us to all collectively do.
But again, on behalf of the Upper Skagit,
thank you for everything.
and most of all i have to support thank the
biggest support team that i have and that is
my lovely wife who's been there throughout this
process so thank you Lenay for everything thank you
Thank you and good afternoon.
My name is Kate Wells with NOAA Fisheries.
I am the Assistant Regional Administrator for the Oregon
Washington Coastal Office out of our Portland office there.
And we've prepared some remarks on behalf of the entire
federal family that participated participated in the
settlement agreement.
Mayor Wilson, on behalf of the federal agencies who
are party to the Skagit Hydroelectric Settlement
Agreement, thank you for bringing us here together
today to commemorate this historic event.
The US Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the US Forest Service,
the National Marine Fisheries Service all work diligently with
the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe the Swinomish Indian
Tribal Community and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe
and alongside our state agency partners Seattle
City Light and other settlement parties to
ensure the continued and expanded stewardship
of national natural cultural and recreational
resources while supporting hydroelectric power generation
for the City of Seattle this work also reflects the federal
government's ongoing trust responsibilities
and commitment to working in partnership with the
tribes we recognize the three Skagit River
tribes as key partners in the settlement process
their enduring connection to the river and its resources have
helped shape the agreement in meaningful ways their
perspective has been essential in guiding this work and their
involvement continues to strengthen both the process and
the outcome we appreciate their partnership and their
continued commitment as this agreement moves forward
the settlement agreement highlights what is possible
when stewardship and sustainable power and
sustainable power generation move forward together.
This agreement represents many years of diligent and
highly collaborative work by all settlement
parties, the result being a portfolio of commitments
that ensure fish passage, habitat restoration and
enhancement, continued recreational opportunities
and ongoing studies to to support and inform
implementation of the agreement.
We also want to recognize those who have moved on and those who
have been part of this process from the beginning.
This has been a long and complex process and every person
involved has played a part in reaching this point.
Today marks an important milestone, however
the real measure of success will be in the
work ahead.
On behalf of the federal agencies, thank you to
everyone who helped build this durable agreement.
We look forward to continuing
the work of implementing it together.
Thank you.
I folded this too many times.
Good afternoon.
My name is Casey Sixkiller.
I'm the director of the Washington State
Department of Ecology, and I am delighted to be
able to be here today.
Madam Mayor, thank you so much for the
invitation to participate and for being here
yourself as well.
You know, today is just such an important moment to Mark,
and I appreciate Scott's perspective of maybe
the celebration is a little bit later.
But this is an important moment to Mark and to really lift up.
I think when folks started off on this journey several
years ago, I'm not sure that everybody thought that
we would reach this point.
And just to underscore something that Chairman
Edwards said, it took a lot, a lot for folks to find a way
to come together and stay together through this process.
And there are a lot of people that are speaking today and
There's a lot of folks in this room and i'm sure are joining us
Remotely as well.
Too many to name.
But everybody contributed to this effort.
I had a chance to be part of it several years ago when i served
As Deputy Mayor and Mayor Durkin's administration.
And at that time, you know, Scott was one of
The first meetings i had.
And he really challenged us to think differently
About this license.
To think differently about the process that we were going
To use as a city family to go through the relicensing process.
And i'm really thankful to Scott and to the tribal leaders
FOR ISSUING THAT CHALLENGE and holding us accountable.
So this license is an opportunity to be better.
And it's, I think, a really important reminder
of the things that we can accomplish
when we work together, when we collaborate,
and we really strive to see a future
that we're all part of.
that is something worth celebrating and then of
course there's the details of the agreement itself
right improves fish habitat improves the ecosystem
and improves reduction in flood risk or contributes
contributes to reduction in flood risk, strengthens
the overall health of the Skagit River, and
importantly preserves a critical source of renewable energy
at a time when those demands on that energy is increasing.
This is, as I said, a generational agreement
that strikes a balance between the needs of
the fish, the environment, flood protection, and our
state's clean energy future.
Many years from today, our kids, our grandkids will benefit
from the collaboration and the partnership that folks
are celebrating today.
So thank you very much to the mayor.
Thank you to our tribal leaders, our federal and state partners.
The work continues.
And again, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here.
Good afternoon.
My name is Brendan Brooks and I'm the North Puget
Sound Regional Director for the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife.
And our director, Director Kelly Souswin, was supposed
to be here today and was not able to make it.
So I think you're stuck with me.
I also have some remarks prepared that we had for the
director that I just found out I was doing this on
the way down here.
So you got to bear with me.
But first of all, thank you very much, Mayor.
I'd like to thank Mayor and the Seattle City Council
members and City Light for inviting us to join you today
in this historic signing ceremony.
For decades, WDFW has worked alongside tribal co-managers
and partner organizations to restore habitat and recover
salmon in the Skagit River watershed,
while supporting sustainable fisheries and local communities.
We also operate the Marble Mount Hatchery on the Cascade
River, as well as managing state wildlife areas and water
access sites that connect people to the Skagit from
anglers and bird watchers to boaters and paddlers.
Over the last seven years, our technical experts
on fish, wildlife, and habitat worked closely
with City Light, other state and federal agencies, and Skagit
Treaty Tribes to reach agreement on this relicensing plan.
We appreciate everyone's hard work during these discussions.
The agreement is a significant progress for a healthy
Skagit River ecosystem.
It is a positive outcome for fish passage, habitat
restoration, and the people from the Skagit Valley
to the City of Seattle.
Fish passage and habitat restoration expect to
contribute to salmon recovery, outdoor recreation,
and increased sustainable harvest for recreational
anglers and treaty tribal fishers for generations to come.
We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work on
what comes next, collaborating to implement this
agreement, bringing salmon back to the upper Skagit
watershed and flows, and restoring habitat
for fish and wildlife.
Thank you.
Ron Weeson: Good afternoon, everyone.
I'm Ron Weeson.
Skagit County Commissioner.
I really appreciate the chance we have to come down here and
Help sign this agreement.
I really thank the Mayor for all the work she's done, all the
Different people involved, state, federal, and local
Representatives have been involved in the seven-year
Process. Skagit County is at the bottom
Of the Skagit River, so we are the area that needs to be
Protected from flood.
And so that's very, very important to us.
The fish passage.
That's very important to us and the county also.
We love to have fish in our streams.
We appreciate what the tribes have done to come together
And have this project come to a conclusion.
We want to work in our estuary area to have the right size,
Right selective program to have a good estuary
Project come together.
We make some pretty good steps going forward to that.
So we want to make sure we can help make the fish
come back so all of us in Skagit County and our
local treaty tribes can enjoy it and so the local
citizens of the county.
But once again, thank you for being here.
I appreciate the time that
took to get here and as there was conflict in
the discussion, but now we're going to come
together today to work to make it better for the
whole community in the future.
So once again, thank you for being here.
So my name is Thomas O'Keefe and I'm the Senior Director of
Policy and Science for American Whitewater and I've been
involved in literally dozens of hydropower licensing
proceedings across the country over the past 30 years.
Now hydropower projects like the Skagit, they alter
sediment movement, water temperature, they fragment
They fragment habitat, they change recreational
use, and they disrupt the cultural character
of rivers.
For river communities, they impact livelihoods,
cultural practices, and long-term ecosystem
recovery. In the case of the Skagit, I
think it's important to consider for those of us living in this
community, and I happen to be a resident here in Seattle in a
ratepayer, that over the last century great wealth has been
extracted from this river that's benefited this community.
And I think it's really important to reflect on, you
know, for whose benefit and what expense has that come.
Hydropower Licensing under the Federal Power Act provides an
an opportunity to reassess projects under modern science,
updated environmental standards, and current priorities
from a community, social, and social justice perspective.
These proceedings determine how a project will operate
for another 30 to 50 years and under what conditions.
Now, I personally have been involved
in dozens of regulatory proceedings over the years,
and I can't think of one that's been as complex
and had as many people involved as this one.
I mean, hands down.
And I think that really speaks to how many people,
how many communities really care about the Skagit River.
The agreement, the settlement agreement that we've crafted,
it does not address every issue, but it's a good outcome,
And it provides the framework for continued collaboration
and coordination.
And I appreciate how Chris spoke about this as a groundbreaking
and also Scott, where this really
is the start of a endeavor to make
significant and meaningful improvements to this river.
I just want to close with two big thank yous.
First, it's just to Seattle City Light and the leadership
leadership, a Seattle City Light.
I can remember a pivotal phone call early in the process
where my counsel was sought out and my advice was, you know,
just continuing to write op-eds back and forth in the paper
isn't going to do it here.
We need to sit down and communicate
directly leadership to leadership and maybe not
follow you know everything that the you know some
of the consultants were saying and really
uphold the values of this utility in this community
and I feel like that was really taken to heart and
then I also really want to thank tribal partners and
and the tribal governments who are engaged in this process,
who were unwavering in being a voice for the river,
and how critical that was, and their willingness
to hold the mirror up and ask the tough questions
of this community and all of us who live here
and benefit for this project.
So thank you all for your leadership.
Good afternoon.
I'm Rob Santof, interim general manager and CEO
at Seattle City Light.
I want to thank you all for being here today to mark
this important milestone.
This agreement represents years of dedicated hard work,
partnership and persistence.
It reflects a shared commitment among tribes, agencies, local
governments, and community partners to steward the Skagit
River watershed responsibly and collaboratively
into the future.
As someone new to this role, I did want to take a moment
to recognize the depth of effort that brought us here
today. This is a result of trust build over time of difficult
conversations handled with respect and of collective
willingness to find a better path forward
together i'm honored to be stepping into this moment
and even more honored to carry the work forward
i'd especially like to recognize chris townsend
who has led this effort for many years with
extraordinary dedication and whose leadership has
been instrumental into to bringing us to today.
With that, I'll turn it over to Chris
to share more about the journey behind this agreement
and what it means for us to move forward together.
- Thank you, everyone.
My name is Chris Townsend.
I'm the Director of Natural Resources
and Hydro Licensing at City Light.
I started eight years ago on this project,
and it's about almost the only thing I've done since then
in addition to the rest of my job.
It's also hard to be one of the final speakers
in a line as important as this one,
because all I can do is echo what everyone else has already
said. Tom O'Keefe, in particular,
stole some of my speaking points, and so you'll
hear them echoed here.
But just to touch on the long path that this has been,
again, over eight years ago, we started
selecting a process and the studies to support the
negotiations. So that's when we started.
And from almost the beginning
we've had almost 20 organizations represented
in in-room discussions with 40 to 60 people.
And that was a heroic effort
that was kept on track by our consultants at Triangle
and associates and everybody's willingness to figure out
how to engage in such a long and difficult negotiation
together productively.
So it was really complex, difficult task.
And the most important thing that came out of that is not
the document in the white binder you see sitting on the table,
which is the entirety of the agreement that we've negotiated
over the eight years, but it's the relationships
that we've developed and the friendships and
the trust and these folks are representing some
of the key parties that participated but all of you
know who you are and the role that you've played
in getting us to this point and i thank each and
every one of you and i'm grateful for your trust
and your friendship that we've developed over the
past and i'll need to be relying on that as we
go into implementation for the future the Skagit
Skagit River is one of the great river systems of
the Pacific Northwest and perhaps the whole country.
It's a wild and beautiful river to the untrained eye,
but to tribes and others who know that the upper headwaters
of the river are dammed by our hydroelectric projects.
We know there's nuance to that.
And the as as Tom said earlier in his speech, the city
of Seattle has extracted a great deal of value from
the Skagit River over the past hundred plus years.
And it is time and it's my honor to be helping Seattle
figure out how to return that value to the tribes and the
communities in the Skagit Valley that depend and have
always and for 10,000 years depended on the Skagit River.
So it's been an honor to help craft that negotiation and get
us to the point we're at today.
This is not the end of a process.
It's really the beginning.
It's the beginning of implementing everything
in that document, and I really look forward
to doing that.
We're already kind of out of the gate ready
to start implementing fish passage and estuary
restoration and the innovative ecosystem monitoring
and adaptive management programs that we've
all agreed is important for the future of the Skagit River.
So our next steps are to get the license from FERC,
and it's going to take our relationships to make sure
that FERC understands why we agreed to what we did here
and to get our license and then to move forward
with license implementation.
So again, thank you to everybody here.
Thank you to all of you who've spoken about the project,
and thank you, Mary Wilson, for being here today.
And I invite you to say a few words.
Thank you.
Well, thank you, Chris.
And welcome, everyone.
I'm very, very delighted to be here with all
of you this afternoon.
Seattle is a city that depends on public power.
And we also believe deeply in environmental responsibility
and public accountability.
The Skagit Project shows that those goals can
and must move together.
This project is a cornerstone of the city's clean,
renewable energy portfolio.
Seattle's facing unprecedented demand for new energy,
and it is essential to keep existing sources of
this energy available.
And the agreement that we are here today to sign shows
us that we can do this.
We can continue to produce clean, carbon-free energy
while also safeguarding cultural and natural resources.
Reliable energy, healthy ecosystems, cultural
preservation, and tribal sovereignty are all connected.
We've heard from a lot of voices today, and I want
to acknowledge the many people behind those voices
who have helped to carry this process forward over many years,
including state and federal agencies, community
organizations, advocates, and our partners at the
Seattle City Council, many of whom have
been supporting this effort for years,
and the Seattle City Light team of staff and consultants
who devoted enormous time and expertise to the negotiations.
I also want to recognize our city attorney's office.
I see City Attorney Evans over there,
and I know that Skagit County is in the house too.
So many hands have gone into this work.
But most of all, I want to thank our tribal partners
for their leadership and continuing to push this process
towards something better and more durable.
I want to recognize the leadership
of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community,
the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, and the Upper
Skagit Indian Tribe.
Today would not be possible without your leadership,
your persistence, and your willingness to stay engaged
through years of difficult and complicated negotiations.
This agreement reflects years of work, relationship building,
and government-to-government collaboration.
And I think it is important to say clearly that the
tribes were not simply participants in this process.
They helped to shape the path forward.
Their leadership, expertise, and advocacy are deeply reflected
in what is being signed today.
This Skagit hydroelectric project has powered
Seattle for generations.
These dams provide about 20% of our city's electricity and
have played a major role in Seattle's growth and innovation.
Seattle's development has then gone on to shape the world.
But we also have to be honest about the history that is
connected to that development.
The Treaty of Point Elliott fundamentally
reshaped this region and forcibly displaced tribal
communities from their lands.
The construction and operation of these dams has real and
lasting impacts on tribal communities, cultures,
and natural resources.
Those impacts are not just historical footnotes.
They continue to matter today, and that's part of
why this moment matters.
Today's agreement is not about closing a chapter and moving on.
It's about committing to a different kind of relationship
going forward, one grounded in respect, accountability,
stewardship, and continued partnership.
And I think that this agreement reflects something important.
Long-term stewardship is strongest when tribal
nations are not treated just as stakeholders
on the sidelines, but are recognized as sovereign
governments and essential partners in shaping
shaping the future of our region.
Finally, I want to emphasize that the City of
Seattle understands the importance of agriculture
to the economy and way of life in the Skagit Valley.
We also know that estuary habitat is vital to the recovery
of all species of salmon.
So we pledge to work with local government, the tribes, and
other partners to identify restoration projects that
are consistent with local plans and priorities that
will make a significant contribution to salmon
recovery and have the least impact on the agricultural
economy as possible.
The city is committed to implementing this agreement
in good faith and continuing this work through
transparent communication, listening, and collaboration.
Because ultimately this is about more than
infrastructure or licensing.
It's about the kinds of of relationships that we
choose to build with each other and the kind of future
that we want to create.
So thank you all for being here, and I'm honored
to join you today as we sign this
agreement together.