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06/23/2005: "Murray: $25 Million Fed Funds For WA Salmon Recovery & $1.4 Million For N. Straits"

In press releases from the office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray, it was announced that an appropriation bill will include funding for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. Senator Murray said: " "Communities across the state have committed to protecting and restoring salmon runs and I'm proud that the Senate has provided funding to make this possible."

In addition to the salmon recovery money , the bill also includes$8 million to Pacific coast tribes and $2.5 million to Columbia River tribes. In another matter, Murray's office also announced that the Senator "has secured $1.4 million for the Northwest Straits Commission in the Senate Appropriations bill. Murray helped launch the innovative grassroots approach to marine protection seven years ago and has secured over $4 million for the restoration efforts in the past six years.

The Northwest Straits Commission was founded in 1997, and Murray was a part of it. The Commission created an advisory commission to work toward protecting marine resources in the Northwest Straits area of northwest Washington and Northern Puget Sound to the Canadian border. There is a local connection to this commission in that San Juan resident Bill Ruckelshaus chaired an evaluation panel and worked to have the bill supported by Congress.

None of this, of course, is a done deal yet, the senate bills that Murray worked on will now move on to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration, and then to the Senate floor for a vote. We will keep you posted on the progress.