Kicking off American Wetlands Month by securing $4.5 million in federal conservation grants

Skookum Valley wetland acquisition site in Mason County. We secured a $564,000 federal grant to help our Squaxin Island Tribe partner acquire, restore and permanently protect wetlands and shorelines along Skookum Creek that drains to Puget Sound. Photo courtesy Doug Ridenour.

To help celebrate Washington’s wetlands during May—American Wetlands Month—we’re delighted to share we have secured five National Coastal Wetlands Conservation grants worth $4.5 million.

This year, the federal grant program will help local partners including tribal governments and nonprofit land trusts acquire, restore, and enhance about 400 acres of coastal wetlands in Clallam, Mason, Pierce, and Thurston counties. All five projects will help recover salmon that Washington’s endangered Southern Resident orca whales depend on for survival.

The program is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and funded in part through taxes paid on equipment and fuel purchases by recreational anglers and boaters. Established in 1990, the federal conservation program provides up to $1 million for individual wetland projects in coastal and Great Lake states as well as U.S. territories.

Wetlands essential for Washington economic, environmental health

Washington’s wetlands are essential for sustaining the state’s economic and environmental health. Wetlands act as a natural sponge, helping control flooding and erosion by catching and slowing down melting snow and surface water runoff from storms. They purify water by filtering sediments and trapping excess nutrients and pollutants such as heavy metals. Wetlands also hold much of the surface water that trickles through the soil and recharges our underground drinking water aquifers.

If communities had to replace the flood control and water treatment functions Washington’s wetlands naturally provide, the costs could far outweigh the expense of preserving them. A 2008 independent study by Earth Economics found fresh water wetlands in the Puget Sound regional alone could be worth more than $10 billion to the state economy.

Productive ecosystems rivaling rain forests and coral reefs

Our wetlands also offer important refuge for wildlife and fish, including salmon, and places for people to boat, fish, and enjoy other recreation activities. Wetlands bordering or close to the marine waters of Puget Sound and Pacific Ocean can be among the most productive ecosystems in the world, rivaling rain forests and coral reefs. Wetlands also help mitigate climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases.

Although only states can apply for National Coastal Wetlands Conservation grants, we work closely with land trusts, local and tribal governments, and other entities to identify conservation projects in Washington and develop wetland restoration and protection proposals for consideration by USFWS.

Since 2008, we have helped secure federal funding and provided technical assistance for acquisition and restoration projects totaling more than $100 million to conserve more than 11,000 acres of Washington’s coastal wetlands.

This year, Ecology received 22 percent of the total $20.3 million in coastal wetlands grants USFWS awarded nationally. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife also received a $1 million USFWS grant to restore a coastal wetland in lower Hood Canal.

Washington’s 2019 coastal wetland conservation projects

Working with local partners, the 2019 federal grants Ecology secured will be used to help fund the following coastal wetland enhancement and restoration projects:



Baird Cove site in Thurston County. Photo courtesy Eric Erler.

Baird Cove Acquisition ($995,000)—Working in partnership with the Nisqually Land Trust to acquire an 88-acre estuarine complex in Thurston County on the east side of Johnson Point in southern Puget Sound, including more than 4,200 feet of intact estuarine shoreline, pristine coastal wetlands and mature forest.






Elwha Estuary Place site, Clallam County. Photo by John Gussman.

 Elwha Estuary Place Acquisition ($1 million)—This collaborative project with the Coastal Watershed Institute will conserve historic Elwha River estuary wetlands and restore marine shoreline along the river delta in Clallam County.








Skookum Valley Wetland Acquisition ($564,000)—Working in partnership with the Squaxin Island Tribe, the funding will be used to help acquire and permanently protect 158 acres of wetlands and shorelines along Skookum Creek that flows directly to Puget Sound in Mason County.

Sound View Camp property in Pierce County.

Sound View Camp Conservation Easement ($950,000)—We are working with our Nisqually Land Trust partner to acquire a permanent conservation easement to protect Sound View Camp, a 93-acre waterfront property on Drayton Passage in southern Puget Sound in Pierce County.



West Oakland Bay restoration site, Mason County.

Photo courtesy Anchor Environmental.

West Oakland Bay Restoration Phase 2 ($1 million)—Working with our Squaxin Island Tribe partner to put the second phase of restoring critical coastal wetlands in place in West Oakland Bay in Mason County. The project will restore 28 acres of saltmarsh, lost when an industrial harbor was created more than a century ago.




Wetlands tools and resources 

Want to know more? We provide technical assistance and development tools for local governments, consultants, and developers regarding the responsible management, regulation, and stewardship of state wetlands.

Ecology taking action to support orca and salmon recovery

Rulemaking could boost survival of salmon in Snake and Columbia rivers

There are many efforts happening to help support orca and salmon recovery in Washington. Governor Inslee has directed Ecology to take the necessary steps to allow increased water to spill over the Snake and Columbia River dams during the spring season, with the end goal of helping more juvenile salmon reach the ocean. This work is also reflected in the Southern Resident Orca Task Force recommendations to the Governor.

McNary Dam on the Columbia River
(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

To allow more water to spill over dams for improved salmon passage, we must change our water quality standard rules to increase Total Dissolved Gas (TDG) levels in the Snake and Columbia rivers. Current scientific modeling shows that increased spill could lead to more juvenile salmon reaching the ocean. We expect that this would lead to more salmon adults in the ocean and more adults returning to the rivers to spawn.

The rule change would apply to the ‘spring spill season’ – generally from early April through June, when large amounts of runoff from melting snowpack typically lead to high water flows in the Columbia and Snake River systems. The spring spill season is also when juvenile salmon are migrating out to the ocean and when adult Spring Chinook and sockeye are migrating up river to spawn.

At this time, we are in the rule development phase to change the allowable TDG level. We are opening a comment period on the scope of the Environmental Impact statement (EIS) until May 29. The EIS will review the potential for aquatic life impacts of more TDG from increased spill.

This might sound familiar

In March 2019, we issued a short-term modification to allow increased TDG during the spring spill season at the eight federal dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers. We wrote a blog post when we were working on the short-term modification. Without a rule change, the short-term modification will expire after the 2021 spill season.

What is Total Dissolved Gas?

Increasing the water spilling over a dam can push air into the water and increase TDG. TDG is mostly made up of nitrogen and oxygen gases that are trapped in the water and produce pressure (see figure below). This pressure in the water column is measured relative to atmospheric gases which means more gases in the water than in the air is considered supersaturated. TDG is recorded as a percentage - 100% is normal or “in equilibrium” with the atmosphere. Water above 100% TDG is considered “supersaturated”. For example, 110% TDG is creating 10% more pressure in the water column than normal.

As water plunges over a dam it can trap more gas and can become super saturated.
Graphic used with permission from University of Iowa IIHR Hydroscience and Engineering

Why do we limit Total Dissolved Gas?

Gas bubbles on the gill flap and under the eye of this fish

The pressure created by TDG can lead to gas bubble trauma for aquatic life. Gas bubble trauma can occur when gas bubbles form in the tissue of fish and other aquatic life. Increased TDG could have a harmful effect on salmon and resident species like white sturgeon and mountain whitefish. It may also affect aquatic invertebrates. Species that are more mobile can avoid areas with high TDG, while others cannot. The EIS reviews the potential for aquatic life impacts of more TDG from increased spill.

Why increase spill at dams?

Although spill increases TDG, studies demonstrate that the dam spillways are safer routes for fish migrating downstream. Fish that pass over the dam with spill waters have higher survival rates than those that pass through the turbines.

What happens next?

This is the development phase of the rule. Right now, you can comment on the scope of the EIS, until May 29. At this time, we expect comments on alternatives, mitigation measures, adverse impacts, and any other considerations we should include in the EIS. In the coming months, we expect to have a proposed rule available for public comment.

Unrelated to changes to the TDG criteria for the Columbia and Snake rivers, we are also considering revisions to the surface water quality standards to address several additional changes, including those needed to meet legal obligations, align shellfish criteria with Department of Health requirements, and clarify descriptions for marine aquatic life uses. You’ll see these mentioned in the CR-101 and the scoping notice for the Draft EIS. There will be an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes in the coming months.

Visit the rulemaking webpage for additional information and instructions on how to comment.

Learn more about Ecology’s role in the Orca Task Force.