Pacific Salmon and steelhead to get river restoration

November 6, 10:35 AMSeattle Environmental Policy ExaminerJean Williams

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Endangered Chinook salmon to get habitat restoration

NOAA public domain

Endangered Chinook salmon just got a much needed boost with the help of Senator Patty Murray, who  worked to save the Pacific Salmon Recovery Fund by including $80 million in Senate bill after House of Representatives eliminates program

November 5, 2009 U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the $80 million she included for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) in the fiscal year 2010 Senate spending bill has passed the full Senate.

The funds will be used to support state, local, and tribal programs that help improve salmon habitats and restore salmon populations. Senator Murray fought to restore the program after it was eliminated in the House of Representatives’ version of the spending bill. The bill will now go to a conference committee where the differences will be reconciled.

"When it comes to salmon recovery, ignoring the specific needs of the Northwest is unacceptable,” said Senator Murray. “Our region’s economic, historic, cultural, and recreational well-being is tied to a sustainable salmon population. This funding will not only restore and protect our salmon habitats, but will also provide a boost to our economy and create good family-wage jobs”

In May of this year, Senator Murray led a successful bi-partisan effort with Senator Cantwell and 28 Senators and Representatives to save the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Program from potentially devastating cuts after the Administration proposed eliminating it in its original budget request.

"I am grateful to Senator Murray for her tremendous effort to secure $80 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund," said Governor Chris Gregoire. "It is so important that we maintain healthy fish populations to support both our environment and economy. This funding will not only protect salmon habitat and restore fish populations, it protects critical employment opportunities for hundreds of Washingtonians."

The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) helps restore endangered and listed stocks of Pacific salmon through the improvement and expansion of salmon habitats. It also supplements existing state, tribal and local programs that foster partnerships in salmon and steelhead recovery and conservation.

The PCSRF generates hundreds of jobs in Washington state, and every dollar of federal funding has resulted in two dollars being leveraged in local communities.

In Washington state, the PCSRF works through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, which has provided over 900 competitive grants to Washington state projects since 2000. The funding was included in the fiscal year 2010 Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill, which passed the Senate today by a vote of 71-28.


***Source press release from Senator Patty Murray's office.  No copyright restrictions.

CONTACT:  Eli Zupnick

Deputy Press Secretary

U.S. Senator Patty Murray

202-224-2834

eli_zupnick@murray.senate.gov

http://murray.senate.gov/