Gov. Jay Inslee showed support for ecological restoration and job creation projects across the Olympic Peninsula in his proposed capital budget, released last month.

The budget includes $12.5 million for the Washington Coast Restoration Initiative (WCRI), which funds projects that create jobs and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, improving local community economies.

With legislative approval of this funding, project sponsors can undertake multi-benefit restoration initiatives on Kugel Creek and the Upper Quinault River. In addition, a project sponsored by the 10,000 Years Institute will continue to train and employ local SWAT teams for invasive plant prevention and habitat restoration from Sol Duc to Quinault. Jill Silver, the Pulling Together in Restoration project lead, said, “I’m grateful that this funding is considered important. Being able to hire local crews and contractors to work in the watersheds they know keeps young people in the community and supports both the local economy and environment.”

The level of funding authorized by Inslee is the full amount requested by a community-led coalition in support of WCRI. Nineteen proposed restoration projects will be made possible with this level of funding, including the 10,000 Years Institute’s Pulling Together in Restoration project and the Kugel Creek and Upper Quinault River initiatives.

Other projects supported by the governor’s budget include:

• A Smith Creek project to replace tide gates with a bridge over the creek, providing passage for fish and restoring 100 acres of tidal estuary habitat, and supporting the equivalent of 17 yearlong full-time jobs;

• Forest and river restoration along the Hoh and Clearwater rivers, supporting 13 yearlong full-time jobs;

• Two projects in the Elochoman Watershed, including knotweed elimination and river ecosystem restoration;

• The McClellan-Skamokawa Creek Community Watershed project to restore creekside habitat for salmon and other wildlife, which will provide 12 short-term jobs;

• A Satterlund-Grays River salmon recovery project to improve habitat and restore ecosystem function along Grays River, supporting 12 short-term jobs;

• Habitat restoration and erosion reduction efforts along the Lower Satsop River;

• Native seed production by the Center for Natural Lands Management, focusing on the Chehalis River Basin and supporting eight full-time yearlong jobs;

• The Baldwin-Skamokawa Creek Community Watershed project’s continued improvement of habitat and creek channel stability to benefit salmon, elk, deer, raptors, and other birds, supporting 10 short-term local jobs;

• A stream restoration project on Wilson Creek to establish and restore habitat for salmon and other wildlife;

• The acquisition of threatened habitats for waterfowl, marbled murrelet, bald eagle, Roosevelt elk, deer, black bear and river otters near Grayland, to be used for community recreation and conservation purposes, leading to four full-time jobs.

• Road relocation and shoreline restoration in Hoquiam; and

• Habitat restoration and flood risk reduction at Fry Creek in Aberdeen and Hoquiam.

“Forests, rivers, shorelines and marine waters are the building blocks for quality of life and a thriving economy on the coast,” said Mike Stevens, Washington state director for The Nature Conservancy, who worked with the coastal community to create the program. “Governor Inslee’s budget proposal ensures essential investment in these resources to support present and future generations.”

In 2015, with the support Sen. Dean Takko, Sen.-elect Kevin Van de Wege and Reps. Brian Blake and Steve Tharinger, the Washington Coast Restoration Initiative funded 22 projects that restored hundreds of acres of wetlands, provided job training and gear testing for fishermen, removed invasive species and planted native plants, improved fish passage and habitat, and supported hundreds of permanent and seasonal jobs. These legislators will return to Olympia next week, along with Representatives-elect Jim Walsh and Mike Chapman, to be a voice for coastal communities and economies.

If funded by the Legislature, the $12.5 million authorized by Inslee for the upcoming biennium will build upon the successes of the previous years with restoration activities from Ilwaco to Port Angeles.