If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you know how important the salmon population is to the ecosystem. Locally, the Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat organization supports salmon habitat restoration through directing funding from the state’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board to on-the-ground projects every year. You can apply now for grant money for projects that will restore or protect salmon habitats in the rivers that flow in the Chehalis River and Grays Harbor.
Kirsten Joy Harma, watershed coordinator for Chehalis Basin Partnership & Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat says these projects are important because they increase the quality and quantity of salmon habitats so the salmon populations can thrive. “These projects provide local jobs through employing local construction contractors, often help with other community needs – such as correcting undersized road culverts that can lead to road wash-outs – and provide volunteer opportunities for the community,” she adds.
Apply for a Salmon Habitat Restoration Grant
Practically anyone can apply for one of these grants, including cities; counties; conservation districts; tribes; nonprofits; regional fisheries enhancement groups; special purpose districts such as public utility and Irrigation districts; state agencies with local partners; and private landowners, though the Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat encourages them to work with a qualifying organization due to the complexity of the application process.
The minimum request is $5,000, with no maximum. The total amount available for all projects is approximately $1 million. Applicants are encouraged to provide their own resources – labor, materials, equipment and/or cash – in addition to the grant amount they are requesting. The Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat gives the following as typical project examples:
- Planting native trees and shrubs along stream banks
- Replacing undersized and poorly constructed culverts (pipes and other structures carrying water under roads) that impede salmon passage
- Reconnecting side channels with a creek main stem
- Anchoring tree trunks and their roots in creeks to provide shelter and create pools for fish
- Removing invasive plant species like knotweed from stream banks
- Buying land containing pristine salmon habitat or that could benefit from restoration
Grays Harbor Salmon Habitat Restoration Projects
An example of a past project completed by the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force included fixing a culvert that was completely impassable to fish to allow them to pass through easily. “The project benefits salmon populations in the region by fully opening up the Newskah system to all fish life stages – from spawning through rearing,” explains Kirsten. “It opened up 1.34 miles of stream habitat to Coho, chum, steelhead, and searun cutthroat. The stream is in forest lands with no other barriers upstream since five barriers were corrected by forestry companies following state law.”
The group was awarded $75,053 from the Salmon Recovering Funding Board in 2022, $675,482 from the Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board and $95,788 provided by Grays Harbor County to complete the work. “Grays Harbor Stream Team volunteers helped revegetate the site after the culvert was replaced, providing important community engagement and education,” adds Kirsten. “This project is a great example of a local community group pulling together resources – financial and volunteer – from a variety of sources to help our local salmon.”
Grays Harbor Conservation District used a Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant to restore a mile of Mox Chehalis Creek. In the fall, the creek is home to Chinook and coho salmon, and steelhead, cutthroat and rainbow trout. They are planting native plants along the banks – a total of 19 acres – and adding wood structures to the creek, providing benefits to the fish and other wildlife in the area. “Planting trees and bushes along a waterway shades the water, keeping it cool for fish,” explains Kirsten. “The plants also drop branches and leaves into the water, which provide food for the insects that salmon eat. Finally, the roots of the plants keep soil from entering the water, where it can smother fish spawning gravel. Adding wood structures to the water creates places for fish to rest, feed, and hide from predators. It also slows the water, which reduces erosion and allows small rocks to settle to the bottom, creating areas for salmon to spawn. Finally, it changes the flow of the water, creating riffles and pools, which give salmon a more varied habitat.”
Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat
Funding for these grants comes from both the state and federal levels. “The Federal grant is called the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and has been the cornerstone of salmon restoration in our state and throughout the US range of Pacific salmon for decades,” shares Kirsten.
In addition to the grants, the Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitatalso helps educate the community on why salmon habitat restoration and conservation is so important. They do this, in part, through community education events, like the Return of the Salmon, which brings people to see the returning salmon in the fall, says Kirsten. They also work closely with the Grays Harbor Stream Team on other events and demonstrations.
How to Apply for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board Grant
Contact the Watershed Coordinator, Kirsten Harma at 360.488.3232 or kharma@chehalistribe.org to discuss the project idea. Then submit a project form to the Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat by February 10, 2026. To learn more about how to apply and to download application materials, visit the Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat website.
