Port Susan waters ‘approved,’ first time since 1987

Though it won’t be open for harvesting to the general public, about 1,800 acres of tidelands owned by the conservancy has been deemed safe for shellfish harvesting. PHOTO BY ADAM STEWART | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS Port Susan Bay has been closed to shellfish harvesting since 1987, when Washington State Department of Health deemed the water too contaminated. Now, after two decades, it’s been reclassified and the restrictions have been lifted.

“The Department of Health reclassified an area of about 1,800 acres in north Port Susan,” said Don Klopfer, a Stillaguamish Tribe biologist. “A small area near the outflow of the Warm Beach sewer treatment plant is still prohibited, but the rest of the area is approved.”

The reclassified area is in the ownership of the Nature Conservancy, so it’s technically private tidelands and won’t be open for harvesting to the general public, Klopfer said.

However, “it allows the tribe to pursue its native right to harvest shellfish from its native area for ceremonial purposes and for feeding its people,” Klopfer said.

It’s a huge payoff for the tribe, which was instrumental in beginning the cleanup effort about 12 years ago. They’ve been dedicated to taking monthly water samples and requesting Port Susan reevaluated, but Klopfer said credit should be given to everyone else involved, too.

“It hasn’t just been tribal efforts, but a community effort,” Klopfer said.

He named Snohomish County Board of Health, the diking districts, Warm Beach community and area farmers among those responsible for the cleanup effort.

“Everyone benefits,” Klopfer said. “We all get cleaner water for swimming, boating and fishing, and the environment gets cleaned up a little, too.”