OLYMPIA–The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board awarded $50.3 million in grants for 145 projects across the state to improve habitat for salmon and steelhead and bull trout.
Almost half ($21.6 million) was funded through the Climate Commitment Act and targeted restoration of shorelines and riverbanks, known as riparian areas, which are essential to salmon. Forested riparian areas shade the water, keeping it cool for fish. Tree roots hold back sediment and the trees drop leaves into the water, providing food for the insects that fish eat. The trees also can fall into the water or drop branches, which can slow the water and create pools and other diverse types of habitat for fish. Finally, the forests filter out stormwater pollution and slow the flow of rain and stormwater before it enters the waterways.
The remaining $28.7 million in grants approved were funded by the state Legislature and the federal government through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.
“These grants are crucial to salmon recovery work in Washington,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “Without this funding, we’d have no chance of returning salmon to healthy, harvestable levels. The Climate Commitment Act is helping us go bigger and faster all across the state. It will take all of us pulling together to change the fate of salmon, which is inextricably linked to Washington’s economy and quality of life.”
Unprecedented $216.3 Million Funding Request
In addition to the $50.3 million in grants awarded, the salmon board approved another $23.8 million in projects that could be funded if the Climate Commitment Act remains after the November election and $142.1 million in projects that will be submitted to the state Legislature for funding consideration next year. When combined, the board approved an unprecedented $216.3 million in salmon recovery projects.
“This is a large amount of funding, and if it is all approved, we’ll be able to take some big steps forward in our recovery efforts,” said Jeff Breckel, chair of the salmon recovery board. “When we restore salmon habitat, we also are restoring our waters, forests and shorelines—multiplying the benefits of salmon recovery many times over. We end up with more resilient land and water, reduced flooding, more salmon for tourism and the fishing industry and more jobs in local and rural communities. It’s a win for all of us.”
Grants were awarded in the counties below.
| County – Grants Awarded | County – Grants Awarded |
| Asotin County – $835,000 | Mason County – $2,931,429 |
| Chelan County – $3,549,943 | Okanogan County – $1,521,126 |
| Clallam County – $2,672,191 | Pacific County – $1,057,744 |
| Clark County – $1,302,162 | Pend Oreille County – $1,156,753 |
| Columbia County – $748,640 | Pierce County – $2,164,522 |
| Cowlitz County – $3,642,780 | San Juan County – $979,588 |
| Garfield County – $88,000 | Skagit County – $2,798,356 |
| Grays Harbor County – $2,006,968 | Skamania County – $852,071 |
| Island County – $785,201 | Snohomish County – $2,855,526 |
| Jefferson County – $941,233 | Thurston County – $1,263,009 |
| King County – $2,140,872 | Wahkiakum County – $1,613,659 |
| Kitsap County – $731,086 | Walla Walla County – $2,714,628 |
| Kittitas County – $877,962 | Whatcom County – $1,728,275 |
| Klickitat County – $555,571 | Yakima County – $3,049,458 |
| Lewis County – $1,186,107 |
“The projects this year take a range of actions, from removing barriers to fish migration, rerouting rivers and placing logjams in waterways to slow the water and create different types of habitat,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, which administers the grants for the salmon recovery board. “The focus on riparian areas this year is good to see. Making sure our shorelines and riverbanks are healthy and functioning is critical to salmon along their journey to and from the ocean.”
Endangered Salmon
In 1991, the federal government declared Snake River sockeye salmon “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act, the first salmon population in the Pacific Northwest to be listed. In the next few years, additional species of salmon were listed as at-risk of extinction. By the end of the 1990s, wild salmon had disappeared from about 40 percent of their historic breeding ranges in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. In Washington, the numbers had dwindled so much that salmon, steelhead and bull trout were listed as threatened or endangered in nearly three-fourths of the state.
Today, 14 population groups of steelhead trout and Chinook, coho, chum, and sockeye salmon in Washington State are listed as “threatened” or “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. Bull trout, a close relative of Pacific salmon, are listed as “threatened” throughout the state under the Act.
Recovery efforts during the past 25 years have helped some populations approach recovery goals, such as Hood Canal summer chum and Snake River fall Chinook, while others, such as Puget Sound Chinook and upper Columbia River spring Chinook, continue to fall further behind and remain in crisis.