The Sauk River in the western Cascades is the biggest tributary to the Skagit and part of the Wild & Scenic River system. It is also a top-notch salmon and steelhead stream, fished by anglers from across the country. The Sauk is a restless, undammed river that likes to change course from time to time. In 1992, it threatened two twenty-acre-homes of local landowners. The landowners called their Congressional Representative, who called the Forest Service, who called Western Rivers Conservancy. We wanted to prevent a local outcry against the Wild & Scenic designation, which prohibits flood-control dams and levees. In 1993, Western Rivers Conservancy bought the two properties, tore down the buildings, cleaned up the land, resolved some title problems and donated the lands to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

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