Larsen announces $37,766,854 in recommended funding to combat climate change, create green jobs in NW WA

Funding made possible by bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act

||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN |||

EVERETT, WA – Today, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recommended $37,766,854 to be awarded to eight high-impact projects that support Northwest Washington coastal communities in their efforts to combat climate change. The awards are recommended under NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts initiative, which is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with additional funds leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, Northwest Washington coastal communities will have the funding and resources needed to invest in solutions to boost climate resilience, restore habitat, reduce flooding and protect against invasive species,” said Larsen, the lead Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. “I will continue to work with local leaders and stakeholders and the Administration to fully implement these historic laws to combat climate change and build cleaner, greener, safer and more accessible communities in the Pacific Northwest and across the country.”

Recommended projects and funding amounts in Washington’s Second Congressional District include:

Restoring Wildlife Habitat in Northwest Washington

• Transformational Chinook Recovery in South Whidbey Basin Watershed
  Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: $12.1 million
  Funding Source: Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants
  This project will restore 1,200 acres within the South Whidbey Basin of Puget Sound. They will implement seven restoration projects and continue work to develop five future projects. The Whidbey Basin contains Puget Sound’s three biggest salmon producing rivers and nearly 70 percent of its remaining tidal wetlands, which salmon and steelhead trout rely on for spawning and rearing habitat. While significant as a standalone effort, when leveraging the North Whidbey Basin work, the efforts are of a combined scale that will significantly contribute to eliminating estuary habitat as a limiting factor for threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon and steelhead. The work will also benefit Southern Resident killer whale, a NOAA Species in the Spotlight.
• North Whidbey Basin Chinook and Ecosystem Recovery: Skagit River Estuary
  Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: $11.6 million
  Funding Source: Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants
  This project will conduct large-scale restoration in the North Whidbey basin of the Skagit River estuary in Puget Sound, building on more than two decades of NOAA-supported restoration work in the watershed. The scale of restoration of estuary marsh and floodplain habitat will result in significant progress in eliminating habitat as a limiting factor for salmon recovery. The work is expected to reduce flooding on county roadways and tribal lands. Two of the sites are located on Swinomish Indian Tribal Community land and will be managed by the Skagit River System Cooperative, an organization governed by the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes.
• Lower South Fork Nooksack Chinook Recovery 2023-2025
  Nooksack Indian Tribe: $5.2 million
  Funding Source: Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants
  This project will address priority habitat limiting factors for salmon and steelhead trout in the South Fork Nooksack River. Declining populations of Chinook salmon and other species have had significant impacts on the Nooksack Tribe’s cultural, subsistence, and commercial fisheries. By increasing habitat complexity and increasing the number of cool water pools in the region to address summer low flows of water, this work will support multiple life stages of salmon and enhance their resilience to climate change. The effort will encompass construction of two projects and the design of a third. The work will help reduce flood risk to the nearby Town of Acme through increased water storage and construction of a berm.
• South Fork Nooksack River Restoration Project
  Lummi Nation: $4.2 million
  Funding Source: Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants
  This investment will advance three high-priority salmon habitat restoration projects along the South Fork Nooksack River. Salmon in the Nooksack River watershed are critically important to the livelihood, culture, and well-being of the Lummi Nation, but degraded habitat has led the abundance of several fish stocks to diminish substantially from historical levels. This work will support Endangered Species Act-listed Puget Sound Chinook and steelhead trout, and benefit Southern Resident killer whales, a NOAA Species in the Spotlight, by supporting their prey. The work will increase flood resilience, improve water quality and enhance tribal fisheries.

Building Climate Resilience in Underserved Communities

• Building Capacity to Inventory Eelgrass Habitat on Lummi Nation Tidelands Threatened by Invasion of the European Green Crab 
  Lummi Nation: $868,000
  Funding Source: Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities
  The Lummi Nation will conduct an assessment to help determine the potential risk that invasive European green crabs pose to eelgrass beds on Lummi Reservation tidelands. They will build staff capacity, acquire the necessary equipment and training, and engage indigenous high school and college students to conduct an inventory and establish baselines of the current status of eelgrass habitat and European green crabs.  
• Restoration for All (R4A)
  Edmonds College: $817,000
  Funding Source: Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities
  Edmonds College, in partnership with the Latino Educational Training Institute and Snohomish Conservation District, will create a bilingual workforce development program to educate and train members of the Latino community in the restoration field. The program will include paid internship opportunities, providing participants with hands-on experience restoring salmon habitat in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds. 
• Skagit Estuary Treaty Resource Recovery 
  Skagit River System Cooperative: $649,000
  Funding Source: Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities
  The Skagit River System Cooperative, which provides fisheries and environmental services for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, will restore estuary habitat to support the recovery of tribal fisheries in the Skagit River. Tribal members will engage in the development of several projects in the Skagit River watershed, in areas that are a priority for Chinook salmon recovery.

Protecting and Restoring Tidal Marsh at Padilla Bay

• Padilla Bay Samish Conservation Area Protection Project
  Washington State Department of Ecology: $2.3 million
  Funding Source: National Estuarine Research Reserve System Habitat Protection and Restoration Grants
  This project, which will allow Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve to protect and restore 74.5 acres of former and current tidal marsh, is part of a larger overall effort to restore up to 105 acres of tidal marsh to Padilla Bay. The project will increase climate resilience by reducing flood risk for the only road and utility corridor that services the Samish Island community. The project will also restore tribal cultural connections with the site, which is near an important historical longhouse location. Access to the area, and the natural resources that once flourished on the site, will be restored.

What the U.S. Department of Commerce and NOAA Are Saying

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo: “I am proud to recommend funding for 14 critical projects that will help make coastal Washington communities and their diverse habitats resilient to climate change and severe weather. This historic investment would not be possible without Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray, and the entire Washington congressional delegation’s tireless advocacy for combating climate change in Washington and across the United States.” 

NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D.: “The historic investments powered by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act would not be possible without the leadership of champions in Congress. NOAA is proud to recommend these projects to help coastal communities invest in their future and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.”

Additional Information

For more information on how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is benefiting Washington state, click here.