[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in October as part of SeafoodSource’s Key Buyer Industry Update. Since publication, NOAA Fisheries has announced additional funding opportunities that can be used for salmon recovery projects, including another USD 99 million (EUR 94 million) in annual funding the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) and the final round of grant funding for habitat conservation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.]
As Pacific salmon navigate their way upstream to spawn along the U.S. West Coast, they desperately need patches of cold water to rest and replenish.
Historically, log jams provided many of these fish refuge by diverting the flow of rivers and creating deep, cool pools of water for salmon to recover on their epic journey. Due to human interference, many of those naturally occurring barriers and the adjacent wooded areas that created them are gone, degrading salmon habitats and making passage more difficult for the species.
In the U.S. state of Oregon, the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe are working to restore those salmon refuges along the Willamette River by installing engineered log jams – artificial constructs that replicate the effects of natural log jams. Together with government and nonprofit partners, the Tribes have completed more than 30 such projects over the last 20 years in the hopes of helping the species recover.
An unprecedented influx of funding for salmon recovery and habitat restoration is now helping accelerate projects like these.
The seismic injection of cash for salmon conservation is coming mainly from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) – two pieces of legislation that have given U.S. President Joe Biden’s government billions of dollars to spend on conservation. Much of the funding has been dedicated to salmon recovery efforts.
In Oregon, NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation has allocated USD 9.5 million (EUR 8.5 million) for the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe’s log jam project as part of USD 27 million (EUR 24 million) in spending on habitat restoration in the Willamette River watershed. The new funding will allow the tribes to install log jams at breakneck speeds; the Tribes and their partners are expected to complete 80 log jams over the next three years.
“What’s exciting about this large influx of funding is that our partners are able to implement multiple large- and small-scale projects all at one time,” NOAA Marine Habitat Resource Specialist Lauren Senkyr said. “In the past, it might have taken five to 10 years to get all of this work done. We’re pushing the fast-forward button on restoration and recovery.”
Similar stories are happening around the country as the federal government has begun distributing hundreds of millions of dollars set aside for salmon recovery and habitat conservation.
The main government program distributing funding for salmon conservation efforts along the West Coast of the U.S. is the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). Established in 2000, PCSRF has received consistent congressionally allocated funding over the last decade; from 2014 to 2021, the government dedicated USD 65 million (EUR 58 million) annually to the PCSRF.
Since then, funding for the PCSRF has surged thanks to implementation of the BIL and IRA.
The BIL included USD 172 million (EUR 154 million) for the PCSRF over a five-year period, with USD 34 million (EUR 30 million) allocated for the fund in each fiscal year through 2026. The IRA provided an additional USD 7.5 million (EUR 6.7 million) for the PCSRF in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Together, the two pieces of legislation increased PSCRF’s funding nearly 50 percent to USD 95 million (EUR 85 million) in 2022. That number rose again in 2023 to USD 107 million (EUR 96 million).
On 1 August, NOAA Fisheries announced USD 105 million (EUR 94 million) in recommended awards to 14 salmon recovery projects.
“This USD 105 million investment, made possible thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda, will build on decades of salmon recovery work while helping Pacific coast tribes and Alaska Natives sustain their communities and cultural traditions in the face of climate change,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. “This is a result of the most ambitious climate agenda in history, and I am proud that nearly half of all funds in this announcement are being awarded to Tribal applicants.”
The influx of spending on salmon recovery extends even beyond the PCSRF.
The BIL included USD 400 million (EUR 359 million) for fish passage improvements and restoration, as well as USD 20 million (EUR 18 million) for fisheries-related consultations and permitting.
The funds aren’t limited to salmon-specific initiatives, either. For example, NOAA Fisheries awarded Trout Unlimited USD 6 million (EUR 5 million) to remove nine barriers in California, which will benefit coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead trout.
The IRA provided another USD 484 million (EUR 434 million) for four of the competitive funding opportunities created under the BIL: transformational habitat restoration, habitat restoration for Tribes and underserved communities, national fish passage, and tribal fish passage. The IRA also set aside USD 60 million (EUR 54 million) for Mitchell Act hatcheries that are being used to help salmon recover in the Columbia River basin, as well as USD 240 million (EUR 215 million) for non-Mitchell Act hatcheries for Pacific salmon and steelhead trout.
In May, NOAA Fisheries announced the latest round of grants for fish passage improvement projects, awarding USD 240 million (EUR 215 million) to 46 new projects.
“This is an unprecedented level of grant funding that will supercharge fish passage and tribal fish passage projects across the country,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said. “This historic level of funding will help recover endangered migratory fish and support sustainable commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries nationally – while also benefiting myriad other species that depend on healthy ecosystems.”
Still, even this unprecedented level of funding may not fully meet conservation needs.
According to NOAA, demand for fish passage improvement funds was four times greater than the USD 240 million that was ultimately awarded in the latest competitive funding round. There will be a third funding round to make up some of that difference.
The Biden administration has pursued other avenues to help salmon-recovery efforts, requesting more federal spending in the 2025 budget, prioritizing salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin in a presidential memorandum, and signing a new agreement with Pacific Northwest states and Tribes. Biden’s focus on the Columbia River Basin has drawn praise from conservation organizations and Tribal representatives.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) “commends President Biden for his commitment to salmon recovery and focusing the full power and scope of the federal government on this issue. He has sent a clear message throughout the federal government that business as usual is no longer acceptable,” CRITFC Chair Corinne Sams said. “Never before has the federal government issued a presidential memorandum on salmon. This is historic.”
Since salmon life cycles can extend several years, the full effects of the BIL, IRA, and the Biden administration’s other actions on salmon recovery may not be felt for some time. However, the federal government is confident that the investments it is making now will pay off for future generations of salmon.
“It takes a few years for habitat to be restored, but if you give nature a chance, she will rebound,” Coit said.
