Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Washington have proposed a USD 5 billion (EUR 4.6 billion) plan for removing or replacing culverts in the state to open up historic salmon spawning habitat.
The plan is a response to the state’s decade-long efforts to comply with a 2013 federal court order that found the state’s culverts blocked salmon and steelhead trout migration, violating Tribal rights.
Washington has fixed or removed 146 culverts since then and plans to remove more, but the state is running out of funding for the effort. The state has already spent or allocated USD 4 billion (EUR 3.7 billion) on the effort, according to the Seattle Times. In March, the state government and Tribes agreed to enter mediation, with Washington admitting that it did not have the resources to meet court deadlines on culvert removals.
To address the funding gap, state lawmakers have unveiled a proposal that would raise USD 5 billion in special bonds to fund culvert removal and related salmon habitat recovery efforts.
“I think it’s really important that we ...
