Skagit salmon projects get $15M in state funding

Of $24.8 million the state awarded this week to salmon recovery in Puget Sound, more than half will go toward projects in Skagit County.

Eight Skagit projects were awarded a combined $15.5 million through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Puget Sound Partnership, the state Recreation and Conservation Office announced Thursday.

Skagit County organizations are “ambitious” when it comes to salmon recovery, Recreation and Conservation Office spokeswoman Susan Zemek said.

“The reason that so much money went into Skagit County projects was because the Whidbey Basin, and the Skagit River particularly, produce 30 percent of all Puget Sound salmon, so it’s a really important area for Puget Sound recovery,” Zemek said. “Also, a lot of the organizations there had projects ready to go … and they’re good quality projects.”

The bulk of the money was awarded to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, with $13.6 million designated to improving fish habitat on the agency’s Fir Island Farm property near Conway.

The agency will move back a mile-long dike on the property to restore 131 acres of natural tidal flow to Skagit Bay. The project is expected to open up enough tidal marsh and tidal channel habitat to make room for 65,000 migrating juvenile Chinook.

Projects on Illabot Creek east of Rockport brought in the second largest amount of money for Skagit salmon recovery.

The Skagit River System Cooperative, which helps the Sauk-Suiattle and Swinomish tribes with natural resource management, received $1.1 million to restore the Illabot Creek alluvial fan. The Skagit Land Trust also received money for restoration work on the creek.

Local watershed groups, Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council and Puget Sound Partnership ranked and prioritized projects eligible for the grant money. Twenty-eight projects were selected in 10 counties.

The grant money is from the legislatively approved Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund, which is funded by the sale of state general obligation bonds.

— Reporter Kimberly Cauvel: 360-416-2199, kcauvel@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @Kimberly_SVH, facebook.com/bykimberlycauvel