Washington salmon habitat grants include $3.4 million for Whatcom County work
More than $3.4 million is on its way to Whatcom County to fund three projects aimed at restoring salmon habitat.
Wild salmon and steelhead species in nearly 75% of the state have been declared as threatened or endangered by the federal government since 2000, according to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.
The office announced the award of more than $61 million in grants to 155 projects statewide — including the three in Whatcom County — on Wednesday. The grants are funded by the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Puget Sound Partnership.
Where are the grants going?
The largest grant in Whatcom County was awarded to the Lummi Nation Natural Resources Department to restore more than a mile of habitat to the Skookum Reach area of the South Fork Nooksack River. The area suffers from low habitat diversity and warm water, according to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board.
The nearly $2.4 million grant will be used to place 49 logjams in the river to create new habitat for the salmon to feed and spawn. The waterway is used by multiple species of salmon, including Chinook salmon. Another project conducted by the Lummi Nation in partnership with Bellingham Technical College is already expected to bring a record 7,000 Chinook salmon to Whatcom Creek this fall.
The Nooksack Indian Tribe will also be working to restore the habitat of Chinook salmon. A $500,000 grant will go toward completing the planning of the restoration of 30 miles of the Nooksack River, where the loss of side channels and floodplain wetlands has led to a lack of habitat diversity.
A third grant was awarded to the Whatcom Land Trust to purchase 2.7 acres along lower Kenney Creek, a salmon-bearing tributary of the North Fork Nooksack River. The $539,200 will be used to remove all structures within 100 feet of the creek and replant the creek banks.
A separate grant awarded to the Tulalip Tribes and partners will also benefit Whatcom County and six others. Almost $300,000 will be used to conduct “comprehensive juvenile salmon monitoring systems” in offshore marine waters in northern Washington and Puget Sound basins for two years.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 12:59 PM.