The Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board will be accepting applications for its new grant program through March 29. Qualifying projects must aim to correct fish passage impediments that impact salmonids and must also be in near proximity or coordination with other fish passage investments.
For the past decade and a half, thousands of Washingtonians and hundreds of organizations and governments have spent millions of dollars in an effort to restore habitat and improve fish and wildlife management across the state. Those efforts are primarily geared at recovering endangered salmon and steelhead runs on area rivers and streams.
The Brian Abbott grant program, administered by both the WDFW, and Recreation and Conservation, will help to fund those same types of projects. Eligible applicants include local, state or tribal agencies, non-profit groups, regional fishery enhancement groups, and private landowners. Projects selected for the program will be submitted for funding in the 2019-2021 Legislative biennium.
The official mission statement of the Fish Barrier Removal Board states that it “aids restoration of healthy and harvestable levels of salmon and steelhead statewide through the coordinated and strategic removal of barriers to fish passage (RCW 77.95.160).”
According to a statement on the WDFW website, “The last great, strategic investment for salmon survival in Washington State is removing the barriers that prevent fish from reaching many thousands of acres of pristine and restored habitat in the headwaters of their natal streams … An estimated 40,000 fish passage barriers exist in Washington State, which in most cases stand in the way of salmon accessing prime habitat.”
The next scheduled meeting for the Fish Barrier Removal Board is Feb. 13 in Olympia. Additional information and a request for applications can be found online at wdfw.wa.gov/about/advisory/fbrb/.
