Skagit County, WA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

070, part of the county's Land Disturbing Activities chapter, states its purpose plainly: to avoid the destruction of or damage to any site having historic or cultural values as identified by the appropriate agencies, including affected Indian Tribes and the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP). 060 requires: if a historical, cultural, or archaeological site or artifact of potential significance turns up during land-disturbing work, work on the development site must stop immediately, the project proponent or responsible party must report the discovery to the county at once, the county then notifies DAHP, the affected tribes, and other appropriate agencies, and the responsible party must hire a professional archaeologist for an immediate site assessment.

If the assessment comes back negative, meaning the find is not significant, work may resume after consulting the state and affected tribes; if positive, the site stays stopped and cannot resume without DAHP's authorization. 645, all activity must cease, local law enforcement and the County Medical Examiner or Coroner must be notified immediately, and the Medical Examiner or Coroner decides whether the remains are forensic, which stay in local hands, or nonforensic, which go to DAHP for jurisdiction. 30, not just to sites already known or mapped.