State awards millions for salmon recovery
Washington state has announced it is awarding $45 million in grants to counties around Puget Sound to be used for salmon habitat health and restoration.
The grants will be used on a variety of projects from setting back levees to reconnecting floodplains. King County received $7.85 million for various projects, the second highest amount awarded and second only to the nearly $13 million that went to Whatcom County. Salmon in the area have been struggling, and they provide a source of food not only for humans, but for Puget Sound’s resident orca pod.
“We know that some of the Puget Sound populations are doing the worst and are struggling to survive,” said Washington state Recreation and Conservation Office spokesperson Susan Zemek. “We’ve seen a lot of progress in other parts of the state.”
Data from the State of Salmon website, a Washington state site where data on salmon and habitat is aggregated, puts numbers behind salmon in some local rivers. The adult Chinook population in the Green River has fluctuated over time, with 91 percent spawning from hatcheries. The recovery goal for the river is 27,000 adult Chinook in the system, but the 10-year mean is just under 3,000 fish.
Read more: https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/state-awards-millions-for-salmon-recovery/