Senator Murray Announces $1 Million for Conservation Efforts for the Elwha River Watershed

ICYMI: Senator Murray Tours Elwha River, Discusses Salmon Recovery Efforts – MORE HERE

Senator Murray: “As successful as the Elwha Dams removal has been, there is still a lot of work that needs to get done to restore and protect the Elwha River watershed from the effects of an ever-changing climate.”

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $1 million to help protect and restore coastal wetlands in the Elwha River watershed of Clallam County. The funding will go to the Washington State Department of Ecology, in partnership with North Olympic Land Trust and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, to restore over 50 acres of land. The grant is a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) project to restore over 2,000 acres of coastal wetlands and upland habitats across the country through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. 

“When I hiked along the Elwha River last spring, I got to see firsthand how restoration efforts like this really work—the river was thriving and salmon were repopulating their historic waters,” said Senator Murray. “As successful as the Elwha Dams removal has been, there is still a lot of work that needs to get done to restore and protect the Elwha River watershed from the effects of an ever-changing climate—this grant will advance local habitat restoration efforts and ensure we are doing more to protect Washington state’s precious landscapes and save our salmon.”

The $1 million grant will go towards the acquisition of 17 acres of land containing 0.3 miles of Elwha River mainstem, floodplain and associated buffers. It will restore 37 acres of coastal wetlands and riparian buffers on the acquired property and adjacent lands. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe will undertake an extensive in-stream habitat restoration, including installation of 20 engineered log jams to emulate the historic river processes and the habitat benefits once provided by large woody debris.

Last April, Senator Murray toured the Elwha River with Olympic National Park Service staff and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe leaders to see firsthand how the region had changed since the removal of the Elwha River Dams. Senator Murray played a major role in the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in 2011 and 2014, respectively, as well as the ongoing salmon restoration efforts in the region. In the lead up to the dam removals, Senator Murray secured millions for the dam removal, salmon restoration efforts, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and more. More recently, Senator Murray secured a historic $2.85 billion investment in salmon and ecosystem restoration programs, including $400 million for a new community-based restoration program focused on removing fish passage barriers, in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Murray was also instrumental in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest ever investment into combating the climate crisis in American history, which included $2.6 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support climate readiness and protect coastal communities.

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