King County to restore salmon habitats
January 4, 2009
By Staff
King County plans to spend over a half-million dollars in 2009 to improve Salmon habitats in the Snoqualmie watershed.
The state’s salmon Recovery Funding Board has awarded nine grants totaling more than $1.5 million to King County for salmon habitat restoration. The funds will be applied to projects in King County’s four main watershed areas. Of the $1.5 million, $553,630 will be spent in the Snoqualmie watershed. The funds were awarded Dec. 12.
“State funding is essential as we move forward with critical salmon restoration work and some of these resources will immediately be applied to on-the-ground restoration work employing people in our community,” said King County Executive Ron Sims.
The state funds will be matched by funds from affected cities, King County, the Puyallup Tribe, the King County Conservation District, and federal grants.
“Recovering our salmon populations in King County is the foundation for our efforts through the Puget Sound Partnership, as salmon are an essential part of the Sound’s food web,” Sims said.
A range of habitat restoration projects will benefit from the state funds. The projects include floodplain restoration, levee setbacks, and restoring Puget Sound shoreline.
In the Snoqualmie watershed, three projects will be funded: the Tolt River San Souci Reach Acquisition, Chinook Bend floodplain restoration and the Snohomish Basin Water Type Assessment and Prioritization Project.
The most expensive of the projects is Tolt River San Souci Reach Acquisition. The project received a grant of $300,000 from the Salmon Recovery Board and will be matched by a $434,000 contribution by King County.
The Tolt River project will add 47 acres to public ownership. The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks will purchase 15 privately-owned properties in the river’s active channel and migration zone. The property acquisition will allow plans to go forward to reconnect two flood plains in the area, which will provide habitat for twenty percent of the Snoqualmie Chinook that spawn in the lower six miles of the Tolt River.
The Chinook Bend project received a grant of $174,340 to restore floodplain habitat along the Snoqualmie River by removing a levee that prevents the river from accessing its natural flood plain. The project will remove 1,700 feet of levee and 3,000 feet of shore bank to restore the river to a more natural flow. Cottonwood stakes will be placed in the floodplain at strategic areas to slow down the flow of the river and add flood plain complexity.
The Snohomish Basin Water Type Assessment received a $59,290 grant to perform stream surveys on about 150 waterways in the Snohomish Basin. Most of the streams are in King County. The stream surveys are designed to provide information about fish presence and stream habitats.
The local projects competed with proposals from across the state in a rigorous evaluation process intended to identify the most effective and scientifically sound projects statewide. The projects were reviewed and prioritized by local watershed groups before sending funding requests to the state agency.
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