NOAA Announces $95 Million In Funding For West Coast Salmon Recovery Projects
As salmon numbers have struggled in California and beyond along the West Coast and Alaska, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration announced funding totaling $95 million for salmon recovery in the Western states. Here’s what will be happening in California in the story from NOAA:
California
California Department of Fish and Wildlife ($16,838,993)
The Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, will fund salmon and steelhead projects throughout the state of California. The funding will focus on large-scale, process-based habitat restoration projects that create self-sustaining natural ecosystem functions and processes. Objectives include the improvement of spawning success of adult salmon and steelhead, and increased the health and survival of all life stages of salmon and steelhead.
Klamath River Inter-Tribal Fish and Water Commission ($1,400,000)
The Klamath River Inter-Tribal Fish and Water Commission is a support organization to four federally recognized tribes in the Klamath Basin. They will administer sub-awards to its member tribes to conduct habitat restoration activities, monitoring, and research.
Tolowa Dee-ni Nation ($1,963,950)
The Tolowa Dee-ni Nation will remove and replace the Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery diversion weir to restore fish passage to 13.1 stream miles, the highest priority barrier for removal on the state’s Fish Passage Priorities List. Tolowa Dee-ni Nation is a new PCSRF grant recipient.
The Wiyot Tribe ($150,000)
The Wiyot Tribe will build tribal capacity to conduct fisheries research, monitoring, and future restoration projects along the Eel River. The project outcomes are to reestablish the Tribe’s role as stewards of their ancestral territory by engaging with restoration partners and developing future restoration projects.
Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund is a competitive grant program that distributes funds to states and tribes. Eligible projects include:
- All phases of habitat restoration and protection activities that contribute to recovering Pacific salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act
- Projects that support Pacific salmon and steelhead species important to tribal treaty and trust fishing rights and native subsistence fishing.
Since the program’s inception in 2000, it has provided more than $1.6 billion to implement more than 15,000 salmon recovery projects. Our partners have protected, restored, and created nearly 1.2 million acres of salmon habitat and have opened 11,000 stream miles to salmon and steelhead.
