Big Money For Local Salmon Recovery

DAYTON - When Columbia and Walla Walla counties receive $1.8 million in grants already approved this year to fix damaged rivers and streams, replace failing culverts and replant riverbanks with the goal of helping bring local salmon populations from the brink of extinction, Steve Martin will breathe a sigh of relief.

Since 2006 the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, headquartered in Dayton, has counted on that budget to fund projects within the entire southeast corner of the state including the Snake, Grande Ronde, Tucannon, Touchet, and Walla Walla watersheds, to name but a few.

"We're quite...