Wednesday December 14, 2022
KXRO —
Salmon and orcas are getting assistance from new state and federal grants.
The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board recently approved nearly $18 million in grants for four large restoration projects around the state.
The grants will restore land along rivers in Kittitas and Okanogan Counties, remove barriers to salmon migration in Walla Walla, and conserve habitat next to a refuge in Pacific County.
In the local funding, $4.8 million will be used to permanently conserve about 1,087 acres of industrial timberland next to Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. The project is said to ensure that 19 miles of streams will be safeguarded from degradation and readied for restoration projects to support salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout, and lamprey.
The land contains about 3 miles of Bear River and Bear Branch, including the last unprotected portion of the east side of the Bear River estuary and its uppermost reach.