Ilwaco wins grant for salmon recovery

Published 2:11 pm Monday, August 12, 2024

ILWACO — The Washington State Department of Commerce announced late last month that the City of Ilwaco was one of just a handful of local governments and tribes to be awarded state dollars in support of salmon recovery efforts.

Ilwaco was awarded $212,500 by the state agency to help integrate salmon recovery work into local growth management and land use planning and development regulations. A total of $1.2 million was awarded to three cities, one county and one tribe, and are funded by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The protection of our natural resources, particularly salmon habitat, is vital not only for our environment but for the long-term sustainability of our communities,” state Commerce Director Mike Fong said in a statement. “This funding empowers local governments and tribes to create and implement comprehensive plans that will ensure the health of our ecosystems while meeting the needs of our growing population.”

In a statement, Ilwaco’s on-call planner Alexandra Plumb, of Facet, said the city was “excited” about the opportunity to leverage what had been heard at recent workshops relating to habitat and sea level rise, which had been put on by the Pacific Conservation District, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and the University of Washington’s sea grant program.

“The community emphasized the importance of water quality, flood damage prevention, and the connection to functioning habitat to them,” Plumb said. “This grant will enable the City to continue to advance their priorities and focus on stormwater management needs and opportunities that will benefit both our residents and local salmon habitat.”

Ilwaco City Administrator Holly Beller said the funds the city is receiving are not associated with any specific project. According to Commerce, examples of activities that can be undertaken to protect and restore salmon habitat and water quality include developing a wetland mitigation bank, incentivizing implementation of low-impact development and green stormwater infrastructure, and creating an urban tree canopy preservation program.

Other funding recipients include the cities of Everett and Lake Stevens, Thurston County and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe.