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METALINE FALLS – Fish are getting a leg up in Pend Oreille County.
Trout Unlimited Inc. received $1.15 million from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, which recently awarded $50.3 million in grants for 145 projects across the state to improve habitat for salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
According to a press release, Trout Unlimited will use the grant to design and restore the lower nearly half mile of Harvey Creek by adding logjams to the creek and planting trees and bushes along its banks. The creek is used by native westslope cutthroat trout and introduced kokanee salmon. Adding logjams creates places for fish to rest, feed and hide from predators while slowing the water, which reduces erosion. This also allows small rocks to settle to the bottom of the creek and create areas for trout to spawn. It will also change the flow of the water, creating riffles and pools to give trout more varied habitat. Planting vegetation along the creek shades the water, keeping it cool for fish and the plants also drop branches and leaves into the water, which provide food for the insects that trout eat. The roots of the plants also keep soil from entering the water, where it can smother fish spawning gravel.
Almost half ($21.6 million) of the total grants awarded was funded through the Climate Commitment Act and targeted restoration of shorelines and riverbanks, known as riparian areas, which are essential to salmon. The areas filter out stormwater pollution and slow the flow of rain and stormwater before it enters the waterways.
The remaining $28.7 million in grants approved 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,” said Gov. Jay Inslee.
“Without this funding, we’d have no chance of 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.”
