La Conner’s Mayor, PortofSkagit Officials and others who have been lobbying diligently received good news this week from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Funds have been approved to dredge critical areas of the Swinomish Channel this year and work will likely begin in the fall. Chief John Hicks with the Corps of Engineers sent a happy email to spread the news on Wednesday.

For La Conner and the local maritime industry, keeping the channel navigable is vital to the region’s economy.

Along with the town and Port, officials from Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Upper Skagit Tribe have been working hard to convince those in charge of the federal purse strings that maintaining the channel is a priority.

The Corps has allocated $920,000 to dredge the south end of the channel this year, according to thePort of Skagit.

For more than a century, the channel has been an important waterway, but to remain open to commercial and recreational boats, it must be dredged every three or four years to remove silt that accumulates.

The last dredging was finished last January, but areas toward the Skagit Bay end of the channel were starting to form high spots again.

The Skagit River, which flows into Skagit Bay at the south end of the channel, is a constant source of sediment in the channel.