January 3, 2023 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:
An influx of $27 million from the Office of Habitat Conservation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act is reinvigorating efforts to restore threatened salmon and trout species in Oregon’s Willamette River watershed.
“This funding is a true lifeline to restoration practitioners who have been working to recover Endangered Species Act-listed Upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead,” says NOAA Fisheries Biologist Anne Mullan. “These species are on the downward trajectory, but this funding gives us hope.”
Multiple major dams on the Willamette River tributaries stand between salmon and steelhead and their historic spawning grounds in the upper watershed. The Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center and its partners are restoring degraded habitat in the lower watershed. NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others to provide passage for Chinook salmon and steelhead between the lower river and their upstream spawning habitat.
Four awards to the McKenzie Watershed Alliance, American Rivers, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Clackamas Partnership will:
- Restore floodplain and side channel habitat to provide spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead
- Remove multiple barriers to fish passage including a dam on a Willamette River tributary
- Reduce the risks of flooding, forest fires, and drinking water contamination
- Provide jobs, educational and workforce development opportunities, new accessible greenspace, and recreational activities to local community members