NOAA Announces $60 Million to Protect Pacific Salmon and Steelhead in the Columbia River

On March 22, 2024, NOAA announced $60 million in IRA funds to address climate change impacts on Pacific salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and to prioritize tribal initiatives. Following collaboration with tribal, state and federal Mitchell Act hatchery program operators, NOAA identified a number of projects focused on hatchery deferred maintenance and repair facilities across the Columbia River basin. These hatchery facilities were originally established pursuant to the 1938 Mitchell Act, which was passed to conserve salmon and steelhead fishery resources in the Columbia River Basin. This funding decision supports President Biden’s September 2023 Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin and the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, a collaboration between the four lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes, Oregon and Washington, and the relevant federal agencies. IRA section 40001 provided NOAA with $2.6 billion in funding for, among other purposes, grants, agreements, or technical assistance for the conservation, restoration, and protection of coastal and marine habitats and resources, including fisheries.