Why this tribe is buying up hundreds of acres of farmland — and flooding it

NPR reports that the Stillaguamish Tribe in Washington state is acquiring hundreds of acres of farmland in its traditional territory and removing levees to convert the land into wetlands, aiming to restore depleted Chinook salmon populations and increase climate resilience against rising tides. The article is authored by John Ryan at NPR, a major national outlet with strong editorial standards, though the metadata provided does not reveal specifics about sourcing, named tribal officials quoted, or data on acreage and investment scale. Independent search results corroborate the core narrative and add context that the restoration effort simultaneously addresses salmon recovery and community floodproofing amid climate-driven sea-level rise—a dual benefit that frames the land conversion as both ecological and climate adaptation strategy. Readers should monitor the tribe's progress on land acquisition targets, ecological outcomes for salmon populations over the coming years, and whether this model influences similar wetland restoration efforts by other tribes or conservation groups in the Pacific Northwest.