Washington Coast Restoration & Resiliency Initiative
Sustainable Rural Jobs · Resilient Coastal Communities · World-class Natural Resources
467
Family-Wage
Jobs
33
Fish Barriers
Removed
83
Stream Miles
Opened
6465
Upland Acres
Restored
3605
Riparian Acres
Restored
Restoration for a Resilient Coast
Washington’s coastal communities are built on our forests, rivers, and estuaries. The health and well-being of our communities are tied to the health of our land and waters and the fish and wildlife they support. Median household incomes are lower and unemployment rates are higher in coastal counties than the Washington state average. The Washington Coast Restoration & Resiliency Initiative (WCRRI) promotes family-wage rural jobs, resilient coastal communities, clean water, healthy forests, and sustainable fisheries.
Local Knowledge, Cutting-edge Science
The Washington Coast Restoration & Resiliency Initiative pairs local partners with scientific experts to ensure long-term success in coastal watersheds. Partners develop projects based on local knowledge of the restoration and community needs and use scientific principles to restore healthy habitats for fish and wildlife and to reduce threats to coastal communities. Forward-thinking projects bring multiple solutions such as improved fish passage and reduced flood damage, reconnected flood plains and reduced bank erosion, restored native plants and reduced nutrient runoff in forests, prairies, and wetlands.
Local Success, Region-wide Impact
Since 2015, the Washington Coast Restoration and Resiliency Initiative has invested $34 million on the Washington coast and leveraged $6 million in existing federal, local, and private resources. Restoration is real business for coastal communities. Eighty cents of every restoration dollar invested stays in the county where a project is located. Projects funded through WCRRI have employed everyone from young adults to veterans to former loggers and connected a trained, local work force with the lands and waters being restored.
Benefits That Will Last Generations
The Washington Coast Restoration & Resiliency Initiative funds projects from Neah Bay to the lower Columbia River and builds self-sustaining ecosystems for the future. We already see the payoff of these investments through sustained cultural traditions and livelihoods, reduced flood damage, improved roads and bridges, and expanded recreational opportunities. This work invests in the future of our communities and makes the coastal ecosystems more resilient in the face of a changing climate. The investment in restoration will have benefits that last for generations.
