Climate Commitment Act awards $4 million for salmon recovery in Chelan County

WENATCHEE — Chelan County will receive more than $4 million in funding for salmon recovery projects through the Climate Commitment Act, state officials announced this week.

The Climate Commitment Act, passed by the Legislature in 2021 and reaffirmed by voters in November, requires Washington’s largest polluters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Funds collected through the program are reinvested into projects designed to mitigate climate change impacts, create jobs, and improve public health. The Recreation and Conservation Office, which administers the funding, awarded $71.3 million statewide for 69 projects, with Chelan County securing $4,094,713 for salmon habitat improvements.

“These Climate Commitment Act-funded projects will reroute creeks, reconnect rivers to their floodplains to reduce flooding, restore streams to provide better habitat for salmon and remove barriers to salmon migration, allowing us to take big steps forward in our effort to recover salmon, steelhead and bull trout from extinction,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office.

The projects in Chelan County target the removal of barriers to fish migration and habitat restoration, including several significant investments in Derby Creek and Little Chumstick Creek near Peshastin.

The funded projects include:

• Cutler Barrier Removal: The Cascadia Conservation District received $311,670 to remove a culvert blocking fish passage in Eagle Creek, a tributary to Chumstick Creek. The project will replace the existing culvert with a small footbridge, reopening critical spawning habitat for Chinook and coho salmon and steelhead trout.
  
  
• Derby Creek Barrier Design and Correction: Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group secured $185,000 to finalize designs and permitting for six fish passage barriers in Derby Creek. An additional $213,418 will fund the replacement of a culvert in Peshastin, opening access to more than a mile of habitat for threatened steelhead and rainbow trout.
  
  
• Little Chumstick Fish Barriers Design: Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group was awarded $188,000 to design corrections for nine fish passage barriers in Little Chumstick Creek. The project is part of a broader, multi-year effort to restore private land habitat connectivity within the Chumstick Creek watershed.
  
  
• Derby Creek Railroad Crossing Replacement: Chelan County Natural Resources Department will use a $2,254,200 grant to replace a culvert under a railroad crossing with a bridge near Peshastin, eliminating the lowermost fish barrier in Derby Creek. The replacement will restore access to more than five miles of habitat for endangered Chinook salmon, threatened steelhead trout, and other native fish species.
  
  
• Derby Canyon Orchards Project: Chelan County also received $841,925 to design and replace a second major culvert in Derby Creek, a key barrier downstream of ongoing fish passage improvements.
  
  
• Camas Creek Crossing Design: Another $100,500 was awarded to Chelan County to design the replacement of a culvert on Camas Creek. The new bottomless culvert will allow better access to rearing and refuge habitat for steelhead and bull trout.
  
  

According to Duffy, the voter reaffirmation of the Climate Commitment Act last fall has allowed Washington to move swiftly on these critical projects. “Voters reaffirmed the critical pieces of the Climate Commitment Act in November and we are getting projects on-the-ground,” she said. “We’re grateful that Washingtonians have such a strong commitment to making sure this state stays a great place to live for people and our salmon.”