Stimulus Project Highlights:

Elwha Dam Removal

Description: Complete nine projects to accelerate removal of Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River from 2012 to 2011; the nation’s largest dam removal to date.

Funding: $54.7 million (from National Park Service, economic stimulus funds) to Olympic National Park.

Nisqually Estuary Restoration

Description: Restoration of 762 acres of salt marsh estuary habitat, doubling the amount of estuary habitat in S. Puget Sound

Funding: $3.4 million (from U.S. Department of the Interior, economic stimulus funds) to Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

Fisher Slough Marsh Restoration

Description: Restores 60 acres of the Skagit River floodplain by replacing old agriculture floodgates and restoring 15 miles of high-quality habitat for chum, coho, threatened Chinook salmon and other species.

Funding: $5.2 million (from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, economic stimulus funds) to The Nature Conservancy.

Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration

Description: Restores 350 acres of wetland and 16 stream miles to fish passage for several species of salmon on the lower Snohomish River and its surrounding tidal floodplain by removing levees, excavating channels and planting native vegetation and trees.

Funding: $2 million (from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, economic stimulus funds) to Tulalip Tribes.

Derelict Gear Removal

Description: In July of 2009, the Northwest Straits Initiative embarked on a historic effort to remove 90% of derelict fishing nets from Puget Sound in just eighteen months.

Funding: $4.6 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration