Press Release, Salmon Recovery, Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board|

Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board
Press Release
10/4/2024
For more information contact:
Ariel at [email protected]
(208) 540-2691

Wenatchee, WA – Out of the $50.3 million in grants approved for salmon recovery projects in Washington in 2024, the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) awarded $5,071,069 to projects in the Upper Columbia. The 2024 grant round was a particularly successful one for the region, with a total of 19 projects receiving funding from the SFRB. One project fell short of its full ask by a whopping $74, but it’s safe to say we’re considering 2024’s grant round to be a huge win!

Of the total regional funding awarded, $3,549,943 will go to 14 projects located in Chelan County, and $1,521,126 provides funding for five projects in Okanagan County. The following projects received funding for 2024:

Cascade Fisheries

  • Lower Sleepy Hollow Riparian Restoration
  • Methow at Goat Creek floodplain reconnection
  • Pole Creek Fish Passage Restoration
  • Peshastin Creek RM 2.5

Chelan County Natural Resources

  • Wilson Side Channel Adaptive Management Project
  • Colockum Creek Reach Assessment
  • Peshastin Creek RM 8.8 Preliminary Design
  • White River Floodplain Restoration Design
  • Bioenergetics modeling and restoration effectiveness
  • Nason-Kahler confluence habitat & coldwater refuge
  • Entiat River Floodplain Riparian Enhancement Project
  • Lower Chiwawa AU Instream Complexity and Floodplain Reconnection Design Project

Chelan-Douglas Land Trust

  • Stormy Creek – Bockoven
  • White River Oxbow Acquisition
  • Entiat River RM 18.5 Acquisition

Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation

  • Habitat Connectivity Improvement at Twisp Ponds
  • Riparian Restoration at M23R
  • Chewuch Bulldog Riparian Bench
  • Riparian Restoration at Twisp Ponds

Trout Unlimited

  • Goat and Eight Mile Creek Riparian Protection

Yakama Nation

  • Nason Creek and State Route 207 Re-Alignment Fish Habitat Enhancement Project – Phases 1 & 2

$21.6 million of the total awarded funding in Washington state will go to projects that specifically address riparian ecosystems by restoring shorelines and riverbanks. Money for riparian projects is provided by funding from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) and $2.18 million of these targeted funds went towards seven projects in the Upper Columbia addressing riparian functions. These projects include riparian planting, floodplain reconnection, and virtual fencing technology to keep cattle out of streams.

2024 marks a year of unprecedented and sorely needed levels of funding for salmon recovery in Washington state.  The SRFB approved $216.3 million in total funding for projects. This includes $23.8 million that will only be available if the CCA remains after the November election, and $142.1 million for projects that will be submitted for funding by the state legislature in 2025. This level of funding is critical, as 14 population groups of salmon in Washington State, remain listed as “threatened” or “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act, including Upper Columbia spring Chinook.

In Washington State, salmon recovery projects are selected for funding consideration by watershed-based groups known as lead entities. The lead entities, which include tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations, vet each project through citizen and science committees for cost-effectiveness and biological benefits to salmon. The Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board serves as the lead entity coordinator for the SRFB in North Central Washington and works to support the local organizations that submit project proposals each year.

Read the full press release from the WA State Salmon Recovery Board

Learn more about UCSRB and its work

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