Watching Our Water Ways

Gov. Chris Gregoire today submitted 52 projects, totaling $101 million, for federal stimulus money to come through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for habitat improvement.

NOAA has a total of $170 million to be disbursed nationwide through a competitive process under the American Recovery and Economic Development Act.

“The need for this funding is especially great in Washington state, which is why I have endorsed a large number of grant proposals,” Gregoire said in a press release. “Each of these proposals would create and retain jobs immediately — especially in hard-pressed rural areas — and would provide long-term economic and environmental benefits to the State of Washington.”

Gregoire praised the efforts of the state Recreation and Conservation Office in coordinating the proposals, which were reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources, Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office and Puget Sound Partnership. The projects meet federal stimulus requirements while advancing state plans for habitat and salmon protections.

For a quick list look at projects in the Puget Sound region, continue reading below. For more details with projects in other areas, download the summary table (PDF 63 kb), which includes descriptions and costs.

Puget Sound projects submitted for federal stimulus funds

Northwest Straits Commission: derelict gear removal
Puget Sound Restoration Fund: recovery of Pinto abalone, Olympia oysters and bull kelp.
Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association: restoration of South Fork Nooksack River.
Lummi Nation: Smuggler’s Slough restoration to reconnect Lummi and Nooksack rivers.
Nature Conservancy: Fisher Slough tide marsh restoration.
Seattle Public Utilities: Lower Tolt River floodplain restoration.
Issaquah: dam replacement with weir structures.
King County: relocation of Big Spring Creek to historic flood plain location.
Ducks Unlimited: Nisqually floodplain restoration.
Nisqually Tribe: Mashel Eatonville restoration.
Olympia: Ellis Creek culvert removal.
Mason County: McLane Cove Estuary reconnection
Kitsap County: Chico Creek restoration at Kitsap Golf and Country Club.
Kitsap County: Carpenter Creek Estuary restoration.
Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group: Little Quilcene River delta restoration.
Mason Conservation District: removal of invasive species from streams in Clallam, Jefferson, Mason and Kitsap counties.
Skokomish Tribe: restoration of Skokomish estuary, including removal of levees.
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe: Lower Elwha hatchery outfall and berm removal.
Clallam Conservation District: replacement of open irrigation ditches with pipes to save water in the Dungeness River.
Tulalip Tribe: restoration of Qwuloot Estuary and tidal processes.

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Tags: economic stimulus funds, Gov. Chris Gregoire, Puget Sound Partnership

This entry was posted on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 9:43 pm by cdunagan and is filed under Hood Canal, Other waterways, Puget Sound, Shorelines, Streams, Wetlands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.