1st Session. No. 160. HARBOR AT ANACORTES, WASH. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF WAR, TRANSMITTING, WITH A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, REPORT OF EXAMINATION OF HARBOR AT ANACORTES, WASH. DECEMBER 11, 1905.-Referred to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and ordered to be printed. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 8, 1905. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, dated December 5, 1905, together with copy of a report from Maj. John Millis, Corps of Engineers, dated June 22, 1905, of a preliminary examination of harbor at Anacortes, Wash., made by him in compliance with the provisions of the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905. Very respectfully, WM. H. TAFT, The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, December 5, 1905. SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith for transmission to the Congress a report, dated June 22, 1905, by Maj. John Millis, Corps of Engineers, upon preliminary examination of harbor at Anacortes, Wash., authorized by the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905. In the opinion of the local officer the harbor is worthy of improvement, and a survey to determine the cost and extent of improvement advisable is recommended by him and by the division engineer, Col. W. H. Heuer, Corps of Engineers. For the reasons given in its report of September 13, 1905, the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, HD-59-1-Vol 45-36 whose duty it is under the law to review all reports of this character, expresses the opinion that Anacortes Harbor is not worthy of improvement by the United States. I concur in the adverse opinion of the Board. Very respectfully, A. MACKENZIE, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers, U. S. Ármy. Hon. Wм. H. TAFT, PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF HARBOR AT ANACORTES, WASH. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Seattle, Wash., June 22, 1905. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following report of preliminary examination of harbor at Anacortes, Wash., as provided in the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905: Anacortes is at the northern end of Fidalgo Island, abreast of Rosario Strait. (See United States Coast Survey chart No. 6300.) No previous examination of the harbor has been made and no work of improvement there at Federal expense has been done. The north water front is available to vessels of deepest draft. The principal industries that are concerned with harbor improvements are lumber manufactories and fish-canning establishments. There are at present six fish canneries, some of them very large, and nine lumber and shingle mills, as shown on blueprint sketch" herewith, though some of the latter are small affairs. A branch of the Great Northern Railway which taps a large timber area runs to the town. The northern water front has ample depth and needs no improvement though it is rather exposed in strong westerly winds. The water east of the town is very shoal and the State authorities have laid out channels or waterways through the tide lands as shown on sketch herewith. The improvement desired is the excavation of these channels in whole or in part to facilitate bringing in logs and to give sheltered harbor for vessels so they can be loaded with greater facility for foreign and coastwise shipment from the mills now existing and to be built along the east front. I have given the locality careful personal examination, have discussed the proposed work with the citizens, both at Anacortes and in this office, and have invited and received written communications on the subject, all of which are herewith, as follows: Anacortes Club, May 6; submits suggestions about the proposed improvement of Ancortes Harbor, and the benefits resulting to commerce. Anacortes Club, June 5; supplement their letter of May 6, relative to needed improvements at Anacortes Harbor, with further information, inclosing blueprint a showing location of principal industries and letter from president of Fidalgo Mill Company. From surface indications and such information as I could derive from those who have driven piling in the construction of wharves on the east front it appears that the proposed dredging would offer no serious difficulties or involve undue cost, as such work goes. There a Not printed. would be no undue cost for maintenance, as there is no reason to expect any considerable filling action. A close estimate could be made without a very expensive survey, though some borings would be advisable. The suggestion of a channel to ultimately go through from Fidalgo Bay to Similk Bay does not appear to be worthy of serious consideration at present. It appears to me that the harbor is worthy of improvement to an extent to be determined after further survey and estimates, and in my opinion a survey and estimate should be made to determine the advisability of improvement. The estimated cost of making such survey is $500. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. A. MACKENZIE, JOHN MILLIS, Major, Corps of Engineers. Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. (Through the Division Engineer.) [First indorsement.] U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, NORTHERN PACIFIC DIVISION, San Francisco, Cal., June 26, 1905. Respectfully forwarded to the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army. As Major Millis believes it will require a survey and estimate to determine whether or not this harbor is worthy of improvement, it is recommended that, if practicable, an allotment of $500 be made for survey. W. H. HEUER, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, [Sixth indorsement.] BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, D. C., September 13, 1905. Respectfully returned to the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors has reviewed the within report of the district officer on a preliminary examination of "harbor at Anacortes, Wash.," and the accompanying letters from interested parties with regard to the commerce and the necessity for the improvement. On August 7, 1905, through a committee of its members, the Board made an examination of the locality, including the city and the harbor, and held a public hearing at which all those interested in the improvement were given an opportunity to present their views. The arguments were presented orally and those present were requested to have them reduced to writing in accordance with law and to furnish more detailed information in regard to the existing commerce than was at that time available. This information has not been received. Anacortes is said to have a population of about 4,000. It is situated on a promontory and is about two-thirds surrounded by water. On the north and northwest there is an excellent harbor with a depth in excess of that required by the deepest draft vessels. On the east is Fidalgo Bay, where the depth ranges from 3 to 6 feet. The industries consist principally of fish, canning establishments, and lumber manu factories. The first-named are located on the deep water of the northwest shore and are not concerned in the question under consideration. The latter, with the exception of one mill, are located on the shallower water in Fidalgo Bay. The improvement desired is the provision of a channel in the bay, by means of which it is proposed to load vessels directly from the mills and thus save the lighterage which is now necessary when loading deep-draft vessels. Two plans of improvement are suggested by those interested and are shown on the accompanying section of Coast Survey chart No. 6377. Plan No. 1 provides for a channel about 300 feet wide and half a mile in length, and plan No. 2 for a more extensive improvement, embracing a channel about 1,000 feet in width and 2 miles in length. It was stated in general terms at the hearing that a depth of 16 to 18 feet at low water was desired. The extent of commerce involved could not be accurately ascertained, but it appears from the correspondence that 13 cargoes were shipped during the past year, which would represent about 13,000 tons, and it is stated that 13 cargoes are under contract for shipment this season. It was represented that if plan No. 1 were carried out it would give a protected harbor for small craft, and would provide a desirable location for 3 or 4 mills in addition to those now existing, and if plan No. 2 were carried out many new industries would spring up and the existing mills would be enabled to load vessels direct from their wharves by extending them out to the channel. From a careful study of this subject it appears to the Board that the benefits which would result from plan No. 1 would be confined to a single mill and to riparian owners, the value of whose property would be enhanced. This plan would not obviate the necessity of lighterage, as far as the other mills are concerned. Such an improvement would be in the nature of a slip and, regardless of cost, is, in the opinion of the Board, unworthy of being undertaken by the United States. The larger project would result in benefit to the several mills on Fidalgo Bay by permitting vessels to land directly in front of them, and thus eliminate the charge for lighterage. It is clear to the Board that the yardage involved in such a project would be well up in the millions, even if the width of the channel were considerably reduced, and that the cost of construction and maintenance would be so large, when compared with the resulting benefits to be expected, as to make it inadvisable for the United States to undertake the improvement. In view of the above, the Board can not concur with the views of the district officer and division engineer as to the necessity of a survey to determine the advisability of the improvement. Based on the evidence before it, the Board has formed the opinion that Anacortes Harbor is not worthy of improvement by the United States. For the Board: D. W. LOCKWOOD, Lieut. Col., Corps of Engineers, a Not printed. LETTERS OF THE ANACORTES (WASH.) COMMERCIAL CLUB. ANACORTES, WASH., May 6, 1905. DEAR SIR: Pursuant to your request for suggestions about the proposed improvement of Anacortes Harbor and the resulting benefits to navigation and commerce, we respectfully submit the following: Anacortes Harbor may properly be divided into two parts-Guemes Channel constituting the north frontage and Fidalgo Bay the east frontage. Guemes Channel is a perfectly safe harbor for craft exceeding 50 tons and needs no improvement for this class of shipping. It is not, however, entirely free from storms that affect smaller craft, and to make it so would entail an expenditure that perhaps would not be justified by present conditions. But the Fidalgo Bay frontage is well protected, affords better anchorage, and by the expenditure of a comparatively small sum of money can be made more useful to large craft, a perfect harbor for Sound steamers, and a great incentive to the commercial growth of the city. In line with this we make two suggestions, numbered 1 and 2, both proposed improvements being outlined on the accompanying Government chart and the State harbor plates. No. 1. Cap Sante waterway.-The dredging of a waterway similar in area and character to "Cap Sante waterway," as shown on plate No. 10 of Anacortes tide lands, to a depth of 20 feet at low water. Such a waterway would provide Anacortes with what is most needed-a harbor that would be perfectly safe at all times for the numerous small craft that make this their home port. It would also carry a waterway close to the heart of the city from the Fidalgo Bay or east frontage, provide additional frontage for industrial and commercial purposes, and be of great value to industries now in operation and prospective ones. No. 2. Fidalgo Bay waterway.-The dredging of a waterway south from Cap Sante waterway to the vicinity of 48° 3' and thence southeasterly to the vicinity of 48° 29′, both south and southeasterly courses following, as nearly as conditions justify, the outer harbor line as shown on the State's plates Nos. 10 and 11 of Anacortes Harbor, this proposed channel to be 1,000 feet or more in width. There are now nine mills along this Fidalgo Bay frontage, and they can receive logs only at high tide, and make shipments by water only through the process of lightering. The waterway would economize the operation of the present industrial plants and be an incentive to the establishment of new ones. Also, it would be a land-locked harbor for all craft. If in the years to come the Government should carry out a much-talked-of project of cutting a channel through from Fidalgo Bay southerly to Similk Bay, this work on the Fidalgo Bay waterway would prove but a forerunner of the Fidalgo BaySimilk Bay channel. The distance between tide waters of the two bays is approximately 1 mile, and the greatest elevation is not sufficient to be an obstacle when the benefits to be derived from such a channel are considered. This channel would obviate the necessity of vessels bound from Seattle to Anacortes, Bellingham, Vancouver, British Columbia, and other northern ports going via the outside passage (i. e., the route across the head of the Straits of Juan de Fuca), or of going through Deception Pass. The distance between the points named would be materially lessened and inland waters would be used, whereas craft now often encounter rough weather outside of Deception Pass, at the head of the straits-so rough that Sound steamers plying the aforesaid route are not infrequently delayed-and steamers with tows have been known to be delayed at Deception Pass several days at a time. So rough, too, that the loss of logs in the vicinity of Deception Pass amounts to thousands of dollars annually. There are at present four steamers in the passenger service on the Seattle-AnacortesBellingham run, all of which use the Deception Pass route, and probably there are few points on Puget Sound that are more often passed by steamers (towing and passenger) than Deception Pass. Yet the Government recognizes the danger of the route by prohibiting stern-wheelers in the passenger trathic from going outside the pass during six months of the year. We recognize, however, that to cut a channel between Fidalgo and Similk bays might mean an expenditure in excess of funds that may be available in the near future, and we do not urge this feature except as bearing upon the advantages of dredging the Fidalgo Bay waterway outlined in our suggestion No. 2. While Anacortes is a city of only about 4,000 people, it is a growing one, and it is safe to say that no other city of like size on the Sound has such a large fleet of small craft operating in connection with its industrial plants. In fact, no city of double the size has so large a fleet. And the improvements suggested not only would benefit |