NOAA grants $2.57M to Cowlitz Indian Tribe to open salmon migration route

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Wednesday, Dec. 14, that it will award $2.57 million to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and and its partners to remove Kwoneesum Dam from Wildboy Creek, a Washougal River tributary in Skamania County.

The funding is part of a $39.8 million package awarded to tribes, communities, and local governments in Washington state for the removal of fish passage barriers such as small dams and culverts to open up salmon migration routes and allow more salmon to return to their spawning grounds, according to a news release issued by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).