Nature reclaiming marshlands after dikes breached Previously dry
tidelands by Port Susan already teeming with wildlife Michael
O'Leary / The Herald The Nature Conservancy recently completed a
$4 million project to restore 150 acres of former tidelands
north of the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. The work involved
breaching an old dike to allow in salt water and reinforcing
another dike to protect farmland. Snow geese are wintering in
the newly flooded area. A sign from state Department of Fish and
Wildlife marks the protected area. Michael O'Leary / The Herald
Kat Morgan, of the Nature Conservancy, walks along the new dike
at high tide when the area is flooded. Previously diked off and
dry, the 150 acres now floods at high tide with salt water from
the bay and is teeming with ducks and snow geese. "It's a great
feeling," said Kat Morgan, manager of Port Susan programs for
the Nature Conservancy, which owns the property. The
environmental preservation group breached an old earthen dike to
allow salt water to