Federal funds set to revive PNW salmon, steelhead populations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tribes in the Pacific Northwest are set to receive $240 million in funding to enhance hatchery infrastructure projects aimed at boosting Pacific salmon and steelhead populations in the region.

This initiative, coming from the Tribal Hatchery Program under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Resilience Funding, was sponsored by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, D-WA, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

“I authored this program because salmon are central to our culture and our identity in the Pacific Northwest, and this new program will give Tribes the resources they need to boost salmon production to support our fisheries as well as our cherished orcas,” Cantwell said in her press release.

The Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce will allocate an initial $54 million to support hatchery maintenance and modernization for 27 tribes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

These funds will aid in restoring aging hatcheries and addressing deferred maintenance projects to help revive salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River Basin. The program also includes capacity building and planning support for tribal communities.

According to Cantwell’s press release, fish hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest are essential for subsistence, ceremonial and economic benefits for tribal communities, as well as supporting treaty fisheries. The Commerce Department’s NOAA will work with the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide this funding to regional Tribes.