This peaceful view records a rare, heavy snowfall in the western reaches of Washington State nearby Puget Sound. Over the last two decades milder temperatures in the Snohomish River Valley have brought about an increase of new agriculture lands. This beautiful layer of winter white covers some major problems brought on by farmlands in the French Creek watershed. Over 100 miles of streams and drainage canals empty into the nearby Snohomish River, carrying along unsightly debris and choking river life with pastureland runoff.
     The French Creek watershed once included a 4,000 acre buffer of scrub and shrub wetlands. Today, large portions of the Snohomish River’s 28 square mile floodplain have been drained and stripped for agriculture use. This steady increase of farmland has millions of juvenile Coho and Chinook salmon (now on the endangered species list) struggling to survive in a soup of contaminated water. Residents, living along the western end of scenic U.S. Route 2, have become very nervous about any heavy rainfall or quick spring snowmelt. Devastating floods have forced locals out of their homes time and time again, with a record setting high water mark this past year. Clean-up, wetland restoration, pastureland buffer zones and river dredging are a must to help restore this beautiful section of French Creek and the Snohomish River.