WA Salmon Receive Another Win: More Than $28M in Funding for Habitat Restoration Projects

Grants would fund culvert and road removal, and restoration of forests that lie near rivers, which are key to creating spawning habitat for salmon

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced more than $28 million in funding for three projects in Washington state that aim to restore the habitat of threatened salmon species.

The grants were awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Program. The funding for these three grants was secured by Senators Murray and Cantwell in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Salmon play an absolutely critical role in Washington state’s economy, culture, history, and traditions,” said Sen. Murray. “The funding we secured in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as the additional funding I’ve secured as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is going to make a huge difference as we work to restore these critical salmon habitats. I’m thrilled these grants are finally making their way to Washington state and I’ll continue to fight to strengthen federal investments to save our salmon.”

“These grants will help build vital habitat for endangered salmon in the Puyallup River Basin, Whidbey Basin, and Queets-Clearwater watershed,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The projects will bring back natural features like log jams and river channels that protect young salmon as they grow and help restore our natural ecosystems, tribal and other fisheries, and Puget Sound orcas.”

The following three projects in Washington state were awarded funding:

1. South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group – $8.4 million: These funds will provide for the implementation of a variety of measures to improve habitat for threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon, steelhead, and trout, and to improve the community’s resilience to flooding. The project will include the removal of culverts, and installation of engineered log jams to alter the flow of water. This project will be carried out in partnership with the Puyallup and Muckleshoot Indian Tribes.
2. Queets Clearwater Large Wood Restoration Project – $10 million: This funding will allow for the restoration and improvement of salmon habitat along the Queets-Clearwater watershed by planting and thinning growth along the watershed and designing and installing engineered log jams to alter the flow of water.
3. Transformational Chinook Recovery in South Whidbey Basin Watersheds Phase 2 – $10.1 million: These funds will allow for a large-scale restoration of the Snohomish and Stillaguamish Rivers within the Whidbey Basin. The work will aim to restore habitat in the upper watershed, which is crucial to spawning, and estuarine habitat, which is key for the rearing of young salmon.

Throughout their time in the Senate, Sens. Murray and Cantwell have been staunch advocates for protecting and strengthening critical salmon populations. Sens. Murray and Cantwell secured a historic $2.85 billion investment in salmon and ecosystem restoration programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including $400 million for a new community-based restoration program focused on removing fish passage barriers.

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