Lead Entity Directory 2015

Lead Entities: Community-Based Salmon Restoration Salmon Recovery Funding Board Mission The Salmon Recovery Funding Board provides funding for elements necessary to achieve overall salmon recovery, including habitat projects and other activities that result in sustainable and measurable benefits for salmon and other fish species. Board Members Citizen Members Agency Members David Troutt, DuPont, Chair Conservation Commission Nancy Biery, Jefferson County Department of Ecology Bob Bugert, Wenatchee Department of Fish and Wildlife Samantha “Sam” Mace, Spokane Department of Natural Resources Phil Rockefeller, Bainbridge Island Department of Transportation Recreation and Conservation Office Director Kaleen Cottingham Natural Resources Building 1111 Washington Street S.E. Olympia, WA 98501 E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (360) 902-3000 TTY: (360) 902-1996 FAX: (360) 902-3026 Web site: www.rco.wa.gov Mailing Address: PO Box 40917 Olympia, WA 98504-0917 To receive this publication in alternate formats, contact the Recreation and Conservation Office at (360) 902-3000, TTY: (360) 902-1996, or through e-mail at [email protected]. Published April 2015 2 2 Healthy Salmon, Healthy Washington When Washington State recovers salmon populations, everyone benefits. Salmon are an important part of our economy, recreation, culture, and heritage. Bait and tackle shops and charter fishing companies rely on the world-renowned Why Are Salmon Pacific salmon. Commercial and recreational fishing in Washington supports an estimated 16,000 jobs and $540 million in personal income. in Danger? Salmon are the food we eat and the substance of family fishing memories. They are the traditions and sustenance of Native American tribes. They inspire our For more than a century, as art. They are integral to other wildlife, which rely on them as food. In short, the we settled the area and iconic salmon are an essential part of our web of life and what it means to be a developed our cities, we Washingtonian. damaged the rivers and bays Communities Join Together to Save Salmon that support and nourish In every community, all across Washington, people have joined together to help native salmon. protect and recover wild salmon. School children, civic leaders, tribal members, In 1991, the federal farmers, businesses, lawmakers, landowners, local governments, nonprofits, and neighbors are working together to reverse the problems that have brought government listed the first many wild salmon runs to the brink of extinction. Pacific Northwest wild Serving at the hub are lead entities, which are community-based groups that salmon as near extinction develop strategies to restore salmon habitat and then recruit organizations to under the Endangered do the work. These partnerships, together with critical support from federal and state governments and regional salmon recovery organizations, have helped Species Act. By 2000, salmon Washington remove barriers to fish migration, create habitat for salmon, numbers decreased so much reconnect rivers with floodplains to restore the natural process of habitat that salmon listings under creation, demolish dams, and replant riverbanks. After more than a decade, the Endangered Species Act Washington now is seeing some wild salmon populations improve. affected three-quarters of Salmon Recovery Done Locally the state. Lead entities perform an essential role in salmon recovery in Washington State. The Endangered Species Act Established in law (Revised Code of Washington 77.85), lead entities consist of a: requires the federal . Coordinator (usually a county, conservation district, or tribe) government to develop . Committee of local, technical experts . Committee of local citizens recovery plans for listed . Grant administrator (county, conservation district, tribe, regional salmon species. State law organization) requires a statewide salmon To create a lead entity, counties, cities, and recovery strategy. Together, tribal governments jointly designate, by these laws spurred resolution or by letters of support, the area for which a habitat project list is to be developed Washington to create Lead entities are and the lead entity responsible for submitting an unprecedented, community-based the habitat project list to the Salmon Recovery grass-roots effort groups that develop Funding Board. The area must be based, at a minimum, on a Water Resource Inventory Area that helped the salmon habitat restoration or any other mutually agreed upon area. A State lead one strategies and recruit county, city, conservation district, special of the most district, tribal government, regional recovery organizations to implement organization, or other entity may provide the complex recovery projects. administrative duties of a lead entity. efforts in the nation. 3 How do Lead Entities Function? Each lead entity develops a salmon habitat restoration strategy to guide its Salmon Recovery selection of projects. The strategy prioritizes geographic areas and types of restoration and protection actions; identifies the needs of salmon; and identifies Creates Jobs social, economic, and cultural factors that might affect salmon recovery. Washington State’s path to Lead entities recruit grant applicants, who use regional recovery plans or lead entity strategies to develop projects. Grant applicants typically are regional fisheries salmon recovery creates jobs enhancement groups, conservation districts, local governments, tribes, state for local communities. A agencies, community groups, land trusts, and others. Project applicants fill out $1 million investment in applications and submit them to lead entities for consideration. Lead entities’ watershed restoration technical and citizens committees evaluate and prioritize the projects. directly results in 15 to 33 new or sustained jobs and Review Committees has been shown to create The Lead Entity Technical Committee includes local experts knowledgeable about $2.2 million to $2.5 million in watershed, habitat, and fish conditions. They evaluate projects on their technical total economic activity. merits, benefits to salmon, and the certainty that the benefits will occur. The technical committee submits its evaluations of projects to the citizens committee. Eighty percent of grant money is spent in the county The Lead Entity Citizens Committee includes representatives of counties, cities, conservation districts, tribes, environmental groups, businesses, landowners, where the project is located, citizens, volunteer groups, and regional fish enhancement groups. The citizens helping families and committee ensures that projects have community support to ensure success. businesses. We estimate that Citizens committee members often are the best judges of the community’s social, restoration projects funded cultural, and economic values. The citizens committee ranks the projects and through the Salmon submits them through the lead entity or recovery region to the Salmon Recovery Recovery Funding Board and Funding Board for consideration. Recreation and Conservation Salmon Recovery Funding Board Office have resulted in nearly 7,500 new or sustained jobs, Members of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board are appointed by the Governor to and created nearly administer federal and state funding for salmon recovery. The board’s evaluation occurs in two phases: The board reviews all projects for eligibility and then its $763 million in economic technical review panel evaluates each project for technical merits, certainty of activity since 1999. success, and to ensure there are benefits to salmon. Habitat Work Schedule Most lead entities use the online database Habitat Work Schedule as a planning tool for implementing salmon recovery plans. The Habitat Work Schedule communicates information to the public about salmon recovery actions and goals. The Habitat Work Schedule facilitates a cohesive approach to tracking, prioritizing, and sequencing actions to recover salmon. The Habitat Work Schedule makes it easy for project teams and the public to see how projects relate to each other, what needs to be done next for Washington State’s the fish and habitat, who to contact with questions, and how progress is unprecedented, grass-roots being made to address factors limiting salmon recovery. Visit www.hws.ekosystem.us to view the Habitat Work Schedule. effort has helped lead the way through one of the most complex recovery efforts in the nation. 4 Explanation of Terms Water Resource Inventory Lead entities engage a Area (WRIA) wide range of participants A WRIA is one of 62 areas that How Are Lead Entities as project applicants, delineate watershed basins for Funded? state management purposes. committee members, Lead entities are funded by the technical experts, and See a map at Washington State Legislature and www.ecy.wa.gov/services/gis/ the federal government through the on-site volunteers. maps/wria/wria.htm. Salmon Recovery Funding Board. Contracts distributing funding are Miles of Fish-Bearing Steams administered by the Recreation and Conservation Office. Lead entities also Stream miles are from a 2008 receive funding from other organizations. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife map of Why Are Lead Entities streams with known or Important to Salmon Recovery? possible presence of bull trout and salmon. Making Smart Investments . Lead entities develop strategies that guide where state and federal money Miles of Marine Shoreline is spent. Marine shoreline miles were . Lead entities coordinate projects that spur local and rural economic

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