King County experts have identified the best opportunities to restore access to the most salmon habitat

Photo courtesy King county

A three-year study conducted by King County scientists and engineers has identified the best stream locations to remove barriers that prevent salmon from swimming to high-quality habitat, putting the county in a strong position for new federal infrastructure investments.

The field team of experts inspected more than 3,000 locations where habitat is possibly blocked by county-owned roads and trails. 

They ranked more than 700 of the identified barriers and determined that completing 50 restoration projects would restore access to at least half of the habitat that is currently blocked.

The inventory and prioritization will make King County highly competitive for local, state, and federal grants – including the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill – that fund projects to restore access to high-quality habitat, which is critical to the survival of native salmon and southern resident orcas that rely on them as a food source.

“Thanks to outstanding work by our team of leading experts, we know precisely where we can produce the best results for the most salmon habitat as quickly as possible,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. 

“The field team’s solid recommendations – based on their inspection of more than 3,000 potential barriers to upstream habitat – makes our region one of the most shovel ready in the country for new federal infrastructure investments.”

More information here