Puget Sound Coastal Wetlands to Be Restored

Environmental News Service

OLYMPIA, Washington - February 15, 2007 (ENS) - The Washington state Department of Ecology will use $1.47 million in federal grants to help local partners return nearly 500 acres of coastal wetland habitat in Jefferson and Whatcom counties back to their natural conditions.

About 70 percent of the land near the mouths of rivers throughout the Puget Sound region has been converted to residential, commercial and industrial uses. Yet, these near-shore estuary areas also provide vital nurseries for salmon and other marine life.

"It will take time, money, teamwork and dedication, but partnerships like this will lead to results for the Puget Sound and Hood Canal," said Governor Chris Gregoire. "Every cent we invest now will bring us closer to my goal of making sure the Sound is swimmable, fishable and diggable for future generations of Washingtonians."

The Lummi Indian Nation in partnership with the Department of Ecology will invest $705,355 to restore and conserve 250 acres of Smuggler's Slough wetlands in the Nooksack River estuary. The project will restore tidal hydrology and fish access to 7.35 miles of slough and 38 acres of palustrine wetland habitats on and adjacent to the land.

The Nooksack estuary is one of the most pristine and undeveloped estuaries in Puget Sound and presents a high potential for protection and restoration.

Merle Jefferson, natural resource director of the Lummi Indian Business Council, said, "The project will restore important habitat for fish and wildlife. We also want the project to help address nearshore water quality challenges that threaten treaty protected shellfish harvest rights."

Ecology is working in partnership with the Jefferson Land Trust and the Northwest Watershed Institute to invest $770,000 to acquire 124 acres of Lower Tarboo Creek in the Tarboo-Dabob Bay watershed.

Historically, the Tarboo flood plain was one of the most productive salmon habitats in the watershed. The partnership will restore 74 acres of wetlands, a half-mile of Tarboo Creek and a half mile of tributary channels to improve salmon spawning and rearing areas, increase wildlife habitat, plant native vegetation and control non-native species.

Peter Bahls, director of the nonprofit Northwest Watershed Institute, said, "This project will help provide long-term protection for the water quality entering Tarboo-Dabob Bay, one of the state's most important shellfish growing areas and a nursery ground for salmon, crab, and Hood Canal shrimp."

The $1.47 million funding is provided by the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. Established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1990, the program has provided about $165 million in grants to 25 coastal states and one U.S. territory that have accomplished the restoration of 200,000 acres of coastal wetland ecosystems.