Grants target salmon recovery

Fish in Oakland Bay, the Skokomish River, Kennedy Creek and Hood Canal will benefit from more than $1 million in state grants.

The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board last week announced the award of $21 million in grants across the state to aid in salmon recovery.

The grants, awarded annually, went to 105 projects in 29 of the state's 39 counties. The grants will pay for work to restore salmon habitat, including repairing degraded habitat in rivers, removing barriers blocking salmon from reaching the ocean, and preserving pristine habitat.

"Salmon are important to every Washingtonian, whether they spend time fishing, east salmon, rely on salmon for their business or use salmon in their cultural celebrations," Gov. Jay Inslee said in a news release. "It's imperative that we improve the areas salmon need, and these grants help do that."

The Mason Conservation District will use a $302,790 grant to buy 46 acres near the Skokomish River and restore habitat within 1.6 miles of the river. The conservation district will contribute $100,589 in a state grant.

Crews will add 22 structures made of logs and tree tor wads. The logs create places for fish to feed, rest and hide from predators. They also slow the river, which reduces erosion and allows small rocks to settle to the bottom, creating areas for salmon to spawn. The logs also change the flow of the river, creating riffles and ponds, which give salmon more varied habitat.

Steelhead trout and Chinook and chum salmon, all listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act, and coho salmon, which is a federal species of concern, all use the Skokomish River.

The South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, in partnership with the Squaxin Island Tribe, will use a $120,245 state grant to improve the salmon habitat in West Oakland Bay in Shelton. The tribe will contribute $1 million in private and federal grants.

Crews will restore 17 acres of saltmarsh, remove one-quarter mile of bulkhead and stabilize four acres at the mouth of Shelton Creek.

Chinook salmon and steelhead, both of which are listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act, use Oakland Bay. So do chum salmon and coho salmon, which is a federal species of concern.

The state Department of Natural Resources will use a $484,450 grant to buy about 10 acres, including a quarter-mile of Kennedy Creek.

The purchase will conserve creek banks, seasonal channels, and forests. The property includes the most sensitive and unprotected ecosystems in the Kennedy Creek Natural Area and connects other conserved land in the 1,600-acre Kennedy Creek Natural Area.

The Natural Area protects about 9 miles of Kennedy Creek and is home to the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail.

The state also awarded a $209,539 grant to the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group that will benefit fish in Mason, Kitsap and Jefferson counties. The group will plant 15 acres of streamside habitat with native trees and shrubs, and survey and control invasive knotweed along 40 miles of streams each year for two years. The work will focus on eight Hood Canal streams used by summer chum. The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group will contribute $41,573 in state, federal and private grants, and donated labor.