Six treaty tribes and one tribal organization will use almost $2 million in grants to complete eight salmon recovery projects in western Washington. The grants are part of the recently announced results of the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant round (details here).
Treaty tribes worked with their neighbors to develop the projects, oftentimes acting as the watershed lead for salmon recovery projects.
These projects will contribute to stronger salmon runs in the future, but they will also help grow the economy. Recent research has shown that for every $1 million in salmon recovery spending, 17 jobs are created, leading to $1.86 million in economic activity.
A publication from NOAA Fisheries explains how this works:
Every dollar invested in salmon restoration travels through the economy in several ways: Restoration project managers hire consultants, contractors, and employees to design, implement, and maintain projects; consultants and contractors hire field crews, rent or purchase equipment, and buy goods and services; and employees spend wages on goods and services to support their livelihoods in their own
community.
Here are some of the projects the treaty tribes will complete in the coming years:
Adding Logjams to the South Fork Nooksack River
Lummi Nation
Grant Awarded: $205,492
Restoring the North Fork Nooksack River
Nooksack Indian Tribe
Grant Awarded: $437,611
Designing Red Creek Tributary Bridge for Fish Passage
Quinault Indian Nation
Grant Awarded: $125,000
Analyzing Freshwater Metrics in the Skagit Basin
Skagit River System Cooperative
Grant Awarded: $104,337
Restoring Crescent Harbor Creek
Skagit River System Cooperative
Grant Awarded: $217,645
Conserving Skookum Creek
Squaxin Island Tribe Grant
Awarded: $210,557
Measuring Salmon on the Stillaguamish River
Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
Grant Awarded: $43,512
Protecting Stillaguamish River Floodplains
Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
Grant Awarded: $332,558
Conserving the Skykomish River
Tulalip Tribes
Grant Awarded: $101,397
Enhancing Habitat by Removing the Pilchuck Dam
Tulalip Tribes
Grant Awarded: $200,000
Construction crews build a logjam in Morse Creek. Two excavators are maneuvering a rootwad log in between established logs to create a stabilized logjam. The project was a collaboration between the Jamestown S’Kallam Tribe, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition to restore salmon habitat on the creek. Photo: Tiffany Royal.
5
4.5