Editor’s note: Updated at 10:52 a.m. on 8/1/25 to include comment from Seattle City Light.

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Officials and farmers in Skagit County are pushing back against the City of Seattle’s proposal to relicense its Skagit River dams.

Seattle City Light is seeking to renew its federal license to operate three dams on the Skagit River, and the utility has proposed spending $150 million on salmon habitat restoration in the county.

The dams are essential to Seattle’s energy supply, providing about 20% of City Light’s electric power.

But Skagit’s Board of Commissioners wrote a letter to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and the City Council on July 28 voicing their concerns over the proposed agreement.

They say the proposal lacks protections against the use of eminent domain to seize farmland.

The commissioners are asking Seattle to include guarantees that it won’t take over land in Skagit County to carry out its restoration projects.

Skagit dairy farmer Jason Vander Kooy calls the move a “land grab” and claims the proposal threatens to remove over 1,300 acres of the county’s farmland from use.

Seattle City Light GM & CEO Dawn Lindell responded to Skagit’s commissioners in a letter, saying “City Light does not intend to use condemnation authority to acquire property in the [Skagit River] estuary.” 

Lindell is planning to meet with each commissioner to offer clarity on the project and City Light’s intentions.