DNR removes derelict barge from Spencer Island

EVERETT — The state’s Department of Natural Resources removed on Tuesday a derelict barge from Spencer Island Estuary. The removal was done in partnership with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is working on a broader restoration project on and surrounding Spencer Island.

During high tide, a contracted crew lifted the barge out of the estuary with a crane, Communications Director Zoe Love wrote in an email on Wednesday. The barge will be disposed of in Everett.

The department often uses Derelict Vessel Removal Program funds for projects like these, Love said, but because the barge had no motor, it didn’t qualify for the funding. Instead, the removal was supported in part by DNR’s Watershed Resilience Action Plan — a 10-year, county-wide salmon and watershed restoration strategy.

“WRAP has funded significant salmon restoration in the Snohomish Basin, including protecting nearshore kelp and eelgrass habitat, establishing an acidification monitoring station, and removing over a dozen derelict vessels with local partners,” Love said. “WRAP was not funded for the upcoming biennium, so this project is a great way to use remaining funds to improve salmon habitat in the Snohomish Basin.”

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