Salmon in San Juan County are getting help from the state, some this week in labor and some next year in money.
A PugetSound Corps team will be cleaning up creosote debris Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 17 and 18, at Neck Point Lagoon on Shaw Island, then on San Juan Island at Jackson Beach, Wednesday and Thursday. The project is sponsored by the state’s Department of Natural Resources and paid for by the Department of Ecology using money from the voter-approved tax on hazardous substances.
On Monday, Dec. 10, DNR and the Salmon Recovery Funding Board announced that San Juan County has been awarded a $300,000 matching grant for four salmon recovery projects planned and managed by the County Community Development and Planning Department, local “lead entity” for salmon recovery.
The creosote debris cleanup is a continuation of a major DNR program to remove creosoted pilings and timbers from Washington beaches and shorelines. Five years ago, DNR used helicopters to remove 38 tons of creosote pilings from Jackson Beach.
Since 2004, DNR and a group of state and private partners have removed over 12,600 tons of creosoted pilings, 2,600 tons of creosoted beach debris, and more than 200,000 square feet of creosoted structures from Puget Sound. For more information on creosoted piling cleanup, go to www.dnr.wa.gov/ResearchScience/Topics/AquaticClean-UpRestoration/Pages/aqr_creosote_removal_program.aspx.
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board money is part of $19.2 million granted on a competitive, matching basis to so-called lead entities in 28 counties in Washington state. Funding for the grants comes from the federal Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and the sale of state bonds, and nearly $1 million came from the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund. Matching funds come from numerous public and private sources.
According to a DNR news release, “Grant recipients will use the money to reconnect rivers and streams, remove barriers that prevent salmon from migrating and replant riverbanks to shade and cool the water, creating places for salmon to reproduce, feed, rest and hide from predators.”
Barbara Rosenkotter, lead entity coordinator for salmon recovery in San Juan County, said some of the money will be used in conjunction with other DNR funding to identify and remove creosote pilings and debris countywide. Other local projects include design work to remove a fish barrier on West Beach Creek on Orcas Island, a countywide forage fish sampling project and restoration of Neck Point Lagoon on Shaw Island.
Announcing the grants, Kaleen Cottingham, director of the DNR’s Recreation and Conservation Office, issued a short synopsis of the 10-year salmon restoration effort:
“Across the state, many salmon populations have stopped declining. In some areas, salmon populations appear to be on the rise. In about a month, we’ll be releasing a detailed report online that will show the progress being made so people can look at the Web and see how salmon are doing in their county. The results are encouraging.”
Information about the Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the Recreation and Conservation Office is available online at www.rco.wa.gov.
