The Department of Commerce has recommended $74.4 million for projects across Washington state to help communities fight climate change and create jobs, announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a news release on Friday.
“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,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
The recommendations were made under the Biden Administration’s Climate-Ready Coasts initiative, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
A majority of Washington state families live in coastal communities and know all too well what’s at stake in our own backyards with rising sea levels and more extreme weather events. We’ve got to tackle climate change and prepare our coastlines to respond to the serious threats it poses—and that’s what exactly this funding will help do,” said Senator Patty Murray. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re delivering much-needed resources to address the climate crisis, restore critical coastal habitats, and strengthen coastal communities’ ability to prepare for and respond to rising sea levels and extreme weather events through NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts Initiative. These federal dollars are going to make a big difference for coastal communities and tribes here in Washington state—supporting work to restore coastal habitat, strengthen salmon recovery, and prepare communities to weather and respond to more flooding and more intense storms.”
The projects are part of the NOAA’s almost $6 billion total investment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. A few of the recommended projects in Washington are:
- Marine Debris Removal throughout the National Marine Sanctuary System: $14.9 million - This project will remove large marine debris from five national marine sanctuaries and two Tribal ancestral waters located off the coasts of Washington, California, Texas, and Louisiana.
- Transformational Chinook Recovery in South Whidbey Basin Watershed: $12.1 million - This project will restore 1,200 acres within the South Whidbey Basin of Puget Sound, helping salmon and Southern Resident orcas.
- Lower South Fork Nooksack Chinook Recovery: $5.2 million - This project will increase habitats for salmon and steelhead trout in the South Fork Nooksack River. The work will also help reduce flood risk to the nearby Town of Acme with more water storage and the construction of a berm.
- Assessing the Eelgrass Habitat on the Lummi Nation Tidelands that are threatened by an invasion of the European Green Crab: $868,000 - The Lummi Nation will conduct an assessment to help determine the potential risk that invasive European green crabs pose to eelgrass beds on the Lummi Reservation tidelands.
- Restoration for all (R4A) Edmonds College: $817,000 - Edmonds College, 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 have paid internship opportunities and provide participants with hands-on experience restoring salmon habitat in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds.
- Washington CoastSavers and Sea Grant: $299,000 - This project will support annual beach cleanups in Washington state, work with the Quinault Indian Nation to expand cleanup and outreach education efforts, and contribute large marine debris data to MyCoast to better understand the scope of the marine debris issue.
For the full list of projects, go here.
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