Announcements
See a list of projects proposed for funding through the Climate Commitment Act.
Typical Projects
- Replacing barriers to fish migration
- Replanting stream banks
- Removing dikes, levees, and shoreline armoring
- Installing logjams to slow rivers and create habitat
- Restoring estuaries
- Buying pristine habitat
- Completing designs for future projects
Who May Apply?
- Local agencies
- Special purpose districts, such as port, park and recreation, conservation, and school districts
- State agencies
- Native American tribes
- Private landowners
- Nonprofit organizations
- Regional fisheries enhancement groups
Funding
Funding is awarded annually. Funding comes from the sale of state general obligation bonds and the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. PSAR funding is awarded biennially and comes from the sale of state general obligation bonds.
This grant program also is supported with funding from 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. See RCO’s lists of proposed and funded projects and details about grant requirements for this funding. on RCO’s Climate Commitment Act web page.
Funding for the grant round is distributed using a formula adopted by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. The formula is based the number of listed and non-listed salmon stocks, number of evolutionarily significant units, number of watershed resource inventory areas, and salmon shoreline miles. The Puget Sound Recovery Region has fifteen lead entities and further allocates both its salmon and PSAR funding based on a formula approved by the Puget Sound Leadership Council.
Funding Report: Salmon Recovery Regional Responses
Grant Limits
Applicants may request any amount greater than $5,000. For design-only projects without match, applicants may not request more than $350,000.
Match Details
There is no longer a 15 percent match requirement for most projects. Match may be required for some acquisition and riparian planting projects in the following situations:
- A project with the primary purpose of riparian planting that does not meet
minimum riparian buffer widths is required to provide 15 percent match. See
Appendix K for details. This applies to a project funded with regular SRFB or PSAR
funds but excludes a project funded through the riparian program. - A SRFB acquisition project, with an upland portion greater than 50 percent of the
total acreage, is required to provide match as part of its total budget. For this
purpose, uplands are those areas that fall outside of other specified habitat types
and their buffers, as defined in appendix L. For exceptional projects based on
scale, rarity, cost-benefit, or value, some flexibility of match may be considered.- 25 percent match: Upland acres are greater than 50 percent but less than
75 percent of the total acreage. - 35 percent match: Upland acres are greater than 75 percent of the total
acreage.
- 25 percent match: Upland acres are greater than 50 percent but less than
Match may include the following:
- Appropriations or cash
- Bonds
- Donations of cash, land, labor, services, equipment use, and materials
- Other grants
- Applicant’s labor, equipment, and materials
Eligible Projects
Acquisition including the purchase of land, perpetual conservation easements, or water rights.
Restoration
- In-stream fish passage
- In-stream water diversion
- In-stream and floodplain habitat
- Upland riparian habitat
- Estuarine and marine near-shore
Planning projects
- Conceptual, preliminary, or final design projects
- Assessments and inventories
Combination projects include elements of two or more project types (restoration, acquisition, and planning).
Ineligible Projects
- Capital facilities and public works projects
- Effectiveness monitoring
- Hatchery, harvest, and hydropower activities
- Mitigation projects
- Property acquisition through eminent domain or leasing
- For a comprehensive list of ineligible projects, see manual 18.
Evaluation Process
Because the salmon recovery and PSAR programs are run in partnership with lead entities, the specific evaluation process depends on the lead entity where the project is located. In general, project evaluation happens in three, sometimes concurrent, parts.
- The local lead entity, coordinating with its regional organization, evaluates and ranks applications. The lead entity and region may use locally developed information and criteria to prioritize projects, including criteria that address social, economic, and cultural values.
- RCO grants managers review all projects for eligibility. Applicants and their lead entities are encouraged to consult with grants managers early to determine any questions of eligibility
- The Salmon Recovery Funding Board Review Panel evaluates each project proposal (except monitoring projects) for technical merits and identifies specific concerns about the benefits to salmon and certainty of success.
See “Section 3: How to Apply,” and “Section 4: SRFB Evaluation Process” of manual 18 for detailed information.
Long-Term Commitment
- Acquisition projects must be managed and protected as salmon habitat forever.
- Restoration projects must be managed and maintained as improved salmon habitat for at least ten years after construction is completed.
Long-Term Obligations web page for additional information.
Salmon Resources
Application Workshop
SRFB Application Workshop Video
Successful Applicant Workshop
Project Management Resources
Manual 18 Appendices and More
Salmon Recovery Funding Board
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board approves the grants. To see details of the board’s meeting schedule and material, visit the board page.
Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office
The Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office coordinates a statewide salmon strategy, secures funding for local, regional, and state recovery efforts; and produces the biennial State of Salmon in Watersheds report to the Legislature.
Banner photo by Kristen Kirkby