OLYMPIA, Wash.-The Yakama Nation and Kittitas Conservation Trust are among 12 Tribes, counties and conservation groups across the state being awarded part of $63 million by the Department of Ecology to manage floodplains to reduce flooding and restore habitat.
“We are working with partners across the state to improve the resiliency of Washington’s floodplains so that we can protect community health, safety, and the environment,” said Ecology Director Laura Watson.
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation will receive $4.2 million to acquire parcels within the town of Twisp threatened by flooding from the Methow River.
The funding will be used to restore salmon habitat and protect property from flooding according to an Ecology press release.
The Kittitas Conservation Trust will be getting $1 million to design the Hanson Ponds Floodplain Restoration Project near Cle Elum. The project will create salmon and wetland habitat and reduce flood risk.
According to Ecology the project funding will come from the state Floodplains by Design program, a public-private partnership led by Ecology, Bonneville Environmental Foundation and The Nature Conservancy, with support from American Rivers, a tribal liaison.
Floodplains by design projects are community-led efforts that include agriculture, habitat conservation and flood risk reduction.
“What sets Floodplains by Design apart is the flexibility of funding and the unique public-private partnership to keep the program responsive to community needs,” said Kas Guilleozet, senior watershed director at Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
Floodplains by Design grant awards:
Kittitas Conservation Trust ($1 million) to design the Hanson Ponds Floodplain Restoration Project near Cle Elum. Quileute Nation ($10.1 million) will restore natural river processes for the Quillayute River in Jefferson County. Whatcom County Public Works Department ($10 million) will continue a multi-phased project to integrate flood hazard reduction and salmon recovery with the needs of agriculture and other land uses in the Nooksack River watershed.Pierce County Planning & Public Works ($9.9 million) will target 300 river miles and eight reaches of the Puyallup River watershed and help restore 10 miles of river.Snohomish County Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ($9.9 million) will continue its community floodplain solutions program for the Snohomish River watershed to increase ecological functions, reduce flooding impacts and protect and enhance farmland.Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians ($8.8 million) will coordinate an effort to reduce flood impacts, protect and enhance farmland productivity, maintain open space and improve water quality in the Stillaguamish River watershed.Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership ($5.4 million) will reduce flood and erosion risk while restoring floodplain function along three miles of the lower East Fork Lewis River severely impacted by gravel mining and development.Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation ($4.2 million) will acquire at-risk parcels within the city of Twisp threatened by Methow River flooding.Forterra NW ($3.5 million) will help property owners sell at-risk properties in the Skagit County town of Hamilton vulnerable to flooding.Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation ($1.2 million) will restore floodplain capacity and connectivity, provide for river channel migration, and improve riparian conditions to help create 1.5 miles of salmon habitat along the Methow River in Okanogan County.Skagit Conservation District ($237,000) will model and collect data to restore Colony Creek in the unincorporated community of Bow, part of the Samish River watershed.
