Out of sight, illegal marinas grow into hazard on Snohomish
EVERETT — They sit in hidden places.
Like tucked away north of the U.S. 2 trestle, down a gravel road, behind a locked gate on a property that resembles a junkyard. Signs along the barriers warn “No Trespassing” and “Beware of Dog.”
There, illegally stored houseboats, tugs and bayliners float — and sometimes sink, causing headaches for state and local agencies charged with protecting marine life and restoring salmon habitat.
Of the dozen or so such marinas identified by the state Department of Natural Resources in recent years, about half were on the Snohomish River, where out-of-the-way estuaries and aging docks provide the ideal camouflage for such operations, department officials say.
In the past five to 10 years, DNR has stepped in to guide dock owners toward compliance with the law, cutting the number of illegal marinas on the Snohomish from six to two, with the remaining pair working toward compliance. The rest were scattered in places like Grays Harbor, Lake Washington and the Columbia River.
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