On November 19th, 2003, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of surrender of preliminary permits for hydro projects in the Western Cascades that were held by Washington Hydro Energy Development Corporation. One of these permits was for development of a hydro project on Skookum Creek (FERC docket 11850-003), a newly discovered creek run in the Nooksack watershed.

Although we have had several victories with micro-hydro over the past year (see related article), the threat to the region's top creek runs continues both in the US and Canada. If you know something about a creek run that is not represented on our website, please take a couple minutes to submit a description or comment. We know that FERC and resource agency staff check our web site when determining recreational use and navigability. We have many advocates who can help represent us in the face of an impending hydro threat, but they have to know about our interest and the website is a great way to document the resource we'd all like to protect.