OLYMPIA–The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) today announced $14.6 million in grants for a suite of projects to protect and improve estuaries, shorelines and other near-shore habitat in Puget Sound.
The grants are from the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, which provides funding and technical assistance to projects that restore and conserve near-shore areas in Puget Sound. The goal is to ensure Washington’s estuaries, river deltas, bluffs, beaches and bays are intact, functioning and resilient to climate change.
“The areas close to shore are very important for a variety of animals that live on the shoreline, and of course that’s where many people want to live too,” said Catherine Buchalski Smith, manager of the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program for WDFW. “With so many important budget requests this session, we’re grateful the Legislature has continued to fund this work. Now more than ever, state funding is needed to restore our shorelines in support of recovering salmon and orca populations and ensuring Puget Sound continues to exist in the ways we expect for generations into the future.”
“These shorelines provide important habitat for many species including juvenile salmon, which use them for feeding and growing before traveling to the ocean. Having bigger healthier salmon heading to the ocean increases their chances of returning successfully to spawn the next generation of salmon,” said Dr. Tish Conway-Cranos, WDFW senior near-shore scientist and manager of the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program’s Learning Program. That program funds projects to improve the science of habitat restoration so future restoration is more efficient and effective. “This program increases our scientific knowledge about what really works on the ground and shapes the outcomes of restoration projects across Puget Sound.”
In addition to the Learning Program, the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program offers the Shore Friendly Program, which provides incentives to private landowners to remove bulkheads, seawalls and other armor to restore shorelines. More than one-third of Puget Sound’s shoreline is armored, limiting critical spawning habitat for forage fish, an important food for salmon. Since starting in 2018, the Shore Friendly Program has reached thousands of landowners, resulting in miles of armor removal, prevention of unnecessary armor installation, healthier shoreline habitats and greater resilience to coastal hazards for participating landowners.
The Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program has invested nearly $152 million in more than 200 projects since 2006. Those projects are expected to open more than 7 miles of streams, restore 2,267 acres along waterways and conserve (through purchases with willing sellers) more than 3,000 acres and more than 25 miles of shoreline.
“This investment will protect pristine areas from development and restore critical areas that can provide quality habitats for the full spectrum of species that use the shoreline,” said Megan Duffy, RCO director. “This funding is key to ensuring we can make our shorelines healthy and able to sustain salmon and other wildlife.”
Grants were awarded to projects in the following counties: (Click the links to see descriptions of each grant)
- Clallam County
- Island County
- Jefferson County
- King County
- Kitsap County
- Mason County
- Pierce County
- San Juan County
- Skagit County
- Snohomish County
- Thurston County
- Whatcom County
- Puget Sound Wide
The grants are funded through the sale of bonds and the Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The Act supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health.