Grants support protection of key Puget Sound nearshore habitat

OLYMPIA - Three proposals designed to protect high-priority Puget Sound marine shoreline habitat will receive funding through the Puget Sound Marine and Nearshore Grant Program at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

The grant program, jointly managed by WDFW and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, will distribute $1,431,329 provided by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support shoreline protection strategies outlined in the state's Action Agenda for Puget Sound.

Priority was given to projects designed to protect land that includes bluffs that supply sediment to Puget Sound beaches in areas facing significant development pressure, or habitat identified in salmon recovery plans or other management plans.

"The purchase and protection of these shorelines will play an important role in advancing salmon recovery and ensuring our natural areas are healthy and productive", said Patricia Jatczak, WDFW manager for the EPA grant program.

The three sites selected to receive funding are:

• Lyre Estuary and Nelson Creek Acquisition ($231,329) - Located 20 miles west of Port Angeles, this project will conserve 2,600 feet of prime shoreline, including a feeder bluff, vital salmon habitat, and the Lyre River Estuary. The Lyre River is one of a few remaining rivers on the Olympic Peninsula with the potential to maintain an intact river corridor from the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Sponsor: North Olympic Land Trust.
• Lummi Island Shoreline Acquisition ($600,000) - This project will acquire two parcels that total 105 acres, including 4,000 feet of shoreline. In addition to intact nearshore habitat, portions of this land have been degraded by a gravel mine, and acquisition of this property will allow future projects that will restore the degraded habitat and nearshore processes. Sponsor: Lummi Island Heritage Trust.
• Waterman Nearshore Acquisition ($600,000) - Located on the southeast side of Whidbey Island along the Saratoga Passage, this project acquires four parcels that total 33 acres of uplands, 2,000 feet of feeder bluff, 2 streams, and 26 acres of tidelands. Dungeness crab, shrimp, and geoduck are found on the project area's tidelands, and outmigrating juvenile salmon use the shoreline as a travel corridor. Sponsor: Whidbey Camano Land Trust.

Projects will be managed by the state Recreation and Conservation Office through an agreement with WDFW.

Since 2011, the Puget Sound Marine and Nearshore Grant Program has received more than $18 million in funding from the EPA National Estuary Program to support the state's plan to restore and protect Puget Sound. The funding has supported over 40 projects, including estuary restoration, removal of shoreline armor, and recovery of derelict fishing nets that degrade marine habitat.