OLYMPIA, Wash. – Federal funding to make tribal communities more resistant to the effects of climate change will allow for several new projects in Washington State.
Funded by the Tribal Climate Resilience Program, 5 major projects across the Evergreen State will receive funding according to the Office of Senator Patty Murray and the Office of Senator Maria Cantwell.
Restoration efforts for endangered salmon habitats along the South Fork Nooksack River will receive nearly $10 million and will be administered by the Lummi Tribe.
Additional water projects, both for drinking water infrastructure and healthy fisheries, will grant nearly $12 million in funding to the Makah Indian Tribe, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe.
The Hoh Indian Tribe will construct $4 million in housing on higher ground due to land destabilization on lower areas.
Cantwell, who sits on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, touted the funding as a win for indigenous communities in Washington State.
“This funding will support critical projects like the Lummi Nation’s restoration of the South Fork Nooksack River Watershed, the Makah Tribe’s new wastewater infrastructure to keep their community and environment safe, and the Hoh Tribe’s efforts to move residents and Tribal facilities to higher ground,” Cantwell said.
Several federal funding projects for sovereign nations climate resilience programs have been funded in recent years as the impact of the climate emergency becomes a persistent challenge for policymakers.
