State Capital Budget funds local salmon habitat restoration
projects
April 23, 2007
OLYMPIA – Area salmon received good news yesterday when it was announced that
habitat restoration projects in Tukwila and Burien will receive funding in the
state 2007-09 capital budget.
“I have spent a great deal of time working to find ways to restore the health of
Puget Sound,” said state Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-Des Moines), who chairs the
Select Committee on Puget Sound and sits on the House Capital Budget Committee.
“These habitat restoration projects are part of that larger effort.”
The city of Tukwila will receive $1.4 million to purchase two acres of riverbank
on the Duwamish waterway just downstream from the East Marginal Way S. Bridge.
The budget also calls for the city to create new habitat for juvenile salmon and
other fish species and wildlife.
“A hundred years of industrial development has wreaked havoc on the Duwamish,”
Upthegrove said. “Cleanup efforts are desperately needed to help bolster
threatened salmon populations.”
Seahurst Beach in Burien will receive $1.1 million to complete phase II of the
bulkhead removal and beach restoration project.
“Juvenile salmon depend on nearshore habit in their early years of growth,”
Upthegrove said. “Removing these bulkheads will make Seahurst Park one of the
largest stretches of salmon-friendly shoreline in central Puget Sound.”
The Capital Budget also includes $60 million for competitive grant funds
available to local governments for salmon recovery and $13 million for nearshore
habitat restoration. Overall, the legislature made investments of over $240
million in cleanup and protection efforts for Puget Sound.
"In order to have good jobs and a strong economy, we need to keep South King
County a great place to live,” Upthegrove said. “These investments are not only
good for salmon but they will enhance our quality of life.”
The Capital Budget was approved with a 96-1 vote and awaits action by the
governor.
###
Contact: Dave Upthegrove (360) 786-7868
Staff: Jeff Muhm (360)786-7237
| 
