The state Salmon Recovery Funding Board has awarded $625,000 in grants in the Puyallup/White and Chambers/Clover watersheds of Pierce County. The projects are aimed at protecting and restoring habitat and recovering salmon species threatened by habitat loss.

The awards designate $325,000 for South Silver Springs habitat restoration in the South Prairie Creek watershed, $80,000 for a Morey Creek fish passage project on McChord Air Force Base, $95,000 to design a Boise Creek channel relocation project in Enumclaw and $125,000 to design a levee setback and side-channel habitat on the White River in Auburn. Project sponsors are Pierce County Public Works and Utilities, Surface Water Management Division; Puyallup Tribe; and King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Project sponsors will contribute an additional $499,000 in matching funds, raising the total funding to $1,124,000.

The five-member Salmon Recovery Funding Board, created by the Legislature in 1999, supports salmon recovery by providing grant funding for habitat protection and restoration projects. It also supports related programs and activities that produce sustainable and measurable benefits for salmon and their habitat. The Board has provided financial assistance for more than 800 projects statewide.

Pierce County is the lead entity for a citizen advisory committee appointed by the Pierce County executive. The citizen committee for the Pierce County lead entity reviews and
submits salmon recovery projects to the board each year to compete for funds.