Salmon projects money

Six salmon and trout recovery projects in Mason County this week received almost $3 million in state grants.

The Washington State Salmon Recovery Board on Monday announced the award of $50.3 million in grants for 145 projects throughout the state to improve habitat for salmon and steelhead and bull trout.

About half ($21.6 million) was funded through the Climate Commitment Act and targeted restoration of shorelines and riverbanks, known as riparian areas, which are essential to salmon, the board states in a news release. The remaining $28.7 million in grants were funded by the state Legislature and the federal government through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.

"These grants are crucial to salmon recovery work in Washington," Gov. Jay Inslee stated in a news release. "Without this funding, we'd have no chance to returning salmon to healthy, harvestable levels. The Climate Commitment Act is helping us go bigger and faster across the state. It will take all of us pulling together to change the fate of salmon, which is inextricably linked to Washington's economy and quality of life."

In addition to the $50.3 million in award grants, the salmon board approved another $23.8 million in projects that could be funded if the Climate Commitment Act remains after the November election and $142.1 million in projects that will be submitted to the Legislature for funding consideration next year.

The Mason County Conservation District received four of the six Mason County grants.

The district will use a $746,762 grant to continue restoring 45 acres of degraded habitat, control 500 acres of knotweed and maintain another 400 acres - 15 miles of streambed - in the Skokomish River floodplain. This project is a continuation of work that began in 2009 to restore hundreds of acres of native plants and large infestations of knotweed in southern Hood Canal. The Skokomish River is used by Chinook and chum salmon and steelhead trout, all listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, Mason County Conservation District will use a $1,277,088 grant to restore the upper South Fork Skokomish River. The conservation district will place at least 14 logjams at different locations to increase the types of habitat there.

Adding logjams to the water creates places for fish to rest, feed and hide from predators. It also slows the water, which reduces erosion and allows small rocks to settle to the bottom, creating areas for the salmon to spawn.

Mason County Conservation District will use a $290,697 grant to plant trees and vegetation on the banks of Mill, Goldsborough and Skookum creeks and their tributaries. The proposed restoration sites lack trees and are dominated by reed canary grass and Himalayan blackberry, which do not provide properly functioning habitat for fish. Planting trees and bushes along the waterway shades the water, keeping it cool for the Chinook salmon and steelhead on these creeks. The plants also drop branches and leaves into the water, which provide food for the insects that salmon eat.

The Mason County Conservation District will use a $328,702 grant to install 10 large wood habitat structures in Gosnell Creek and build a back-channel connecting to the creek's floodplain. Work will be done south of West Cloquallum Road and upstream of Lake Isabella. Gosnell Creek is the upper reach of the largest waterway in the Mill Creek watershed, which is one of the largest watersheds in the area.

The South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group will use a $150,000 grant to plant trees on the banks of Skookum Creek and its floodplain. The work will be done at two sites owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe. The group will maintain the plants for three years. At a site known as Skookum Ranch, the group will replace dead plants and fill in empty areas.

The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group received a $138,180 grant to continue studying the fish entering and leaving the Union River. The group will also count the number of chum salmon carcasses and collect life history and genetic data from the Union, Tahuya and Dewatto rivers.

The group will also count the number of young chum heading out to sea and collect genetic samples to identify the timing of the summer and fall runs.