The Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (LCFRB) is partnering with Tacoma Power to fund recovery of salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act in the upper Cowlitz and Cispus watersheds.
In 2022, up to $3 million in funding will be available through the LCFRB’s Cowlitz Restoration and Recovery grant program. Eligible habitat projects include restoration, design, acquisition and assessment. Applicants should focus on projects that will correct known habitat problems within the upper watershed.
Any Native American Tribe, governmental entity (local, state or federal), conservation group registered as a non-profit, regional fisheries enhancement group, conservation district or private landowner is eligible to apply for a grant.
While applicants are not required to provide matching dollars for projects, it is encouraged.
The LCFRB is scheduling pre-submittal meetings now through Feb. 1. Preliminary applications are due March 1.
The fund was first established in 2019 for restoration projects in the Cowlitz River, as part of the mitigation requirements for Tacoma Power’s Cowlitz River Project. Under this new partnership, the LCFRB will manage the funds on behalf of Tacoma Power, in conjunction with its Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant program.
Grant funding will focus on the following salmon and steelhead populations, in order of priority: Upper Cowlitz and/or Cispus spring Chinook, upper Cowlitz and/or Cispus steelhead and Coho, Tilton coho and fall Chinook salmon and steelhead listed populations and lower basin listed salmon and steelhead having a high proportion of matching funds.
To learn more about the application process, visit https://www.lcfrb.gen.wa.us/crr grants-program, or call 360-608-2450.
