— from ingrid Stegemoeller —
Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today [March 24 2016] led the call for a minimum of $65 million to support the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, a critical source of investment for salmon habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest. In a letter to House appropriators, Larsen and 11 other members from the West Coast requested continued funding to support recovery of Pacific salmon, a linchpin for the Northwest’s economy and environment. Larsen has successfully led similar requests the previous three years.
Past support for the program has resulted in “impressive accomplishments,” the members wrote in their letter. “As of last year, PCSRF grants have funded 11,500 projects to restore more than 1,031,000 acres of essential fish habitat and improved more than 10,000 miles of streams for fish passage. Recent analyses also suggest that on average 17 new jobs and $2.3 million in additional economic activity result for each $1 million investment of PCSRF and state matching funds,” the members wrote. “The restoration and protection of our fisheries resources are vitally important to our economies, our states, and to the nation.”
A link to the letter is available here.
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