- Details
- By Kaili Berg
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians received a $7.5 million grant to remove fish passage barriers in the Puyallup River to improve in-stream habitats for fish tributaries.
As well, the nearby Port of Tacoma received a $2 million grant to rehabilitate the failing Wapato Creek culvert.
The funding was allocated from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage Program (AOP), championed by U.S Representatives Derek Kilmer (D) and Marilyn Strickland (D). It is the first federal program devoted entirely to culvert restoration, according to a press release.
“The tribe has been actively working on fish restoration in this watershed. So this is just one more piece of the restoration puzzle that’s being put back together to improve habitat quality, natural function and provide an overall improvement to the fisheries environment,” Puyallup Tribe Fisheries Program Director Russ Ladley said in an article from Puyallup Tribal News.
The AOP grants are part of an announcement by FHWA of $196 million going to 56 Tribal, state, and local governments that will fix or remove 169 culvert barriers to improve fish passage. Outdated culverts and other infrastructure can cause roads to flood and severely restrict or altogether block fish passage, which is key to the health of fish runs and important to fishing and the health of Tribal communities.
The Puyallup Tribe’s project will replace outdated culverts on Swan, Squally, Clear, and Canyon creeks. The Fall Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Chum Salmon, Steelhead Trout, Bull Trout, and other resident trout populations are expected to benefit from the removal of the barriers, according to the press release.
“Some of the culverts that are going to be replaced are over 100 years old. They don’t meet today’s scientific criteria for fish passage, and we’re going to replace them with actual bridges. It opens up the stream channel tremendously,” said Ladley in an article from Puyallup Tribal News.
Additional grant recipients include $4.2 million for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe that will be used to replace two complete fish passage barriers on Chicken Coop Creek, located in Clallam County. The creek is the heart of traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering areas for the S’Klallam People, and the project will restore access to four miles of spawning grounds and habitat.
More Stories Like This
Biden Expands Two National Monuments in California by 120,000 AcresSault Tribe Joins the Fight for Mother Nature’s Legal Rights with New Resolution
Former NCAI President Fawn Sharp Appointed to Nature Conservancy Board
New Interagency Agreement Supports Water Tribal Water and Sanitation Projects
Biden Unrolls Multi-Million Dollar Solar Grant on Earth Day, More to Come Throughout Week
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
