Best Investigative Journalism Award

2025 Winner

, Micro Division

The Margin

A River of Deception: Historical Documents Reveal How Seattle City Light’s Dams Deprived the Skagit River of Fish, Impacting the Upper Skagit Tribe’s Treaty Rights for Over a Century

The Margin scoured historical documents and detailed how, for more than a century, Seattle’s City Light Department misrepresented the environmental impact of its dams in the Skagit River. The news outlet also explained how the federal government failed to act on the  Upper Skagit Tribe’s behalf when construction on the dams began. 

“The reporting was excellent, and the story expertly and clearly told,” one judge said. Another judge described it as “gold-standard investigative journalism.” 

A River of Deception