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During his appearance before the Leadership Skagit class recently, Swinomish Tribal Senate Chair Steve Edwards cited environmental protection and dealing with climate change as key priorities for his administration.

Federal lawmakers, most notably U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), apparently heard Edwards as well.

Murray, who met with Edwards and other tribal leaders earlier this year at the Thousand Trails RV Resort at Lone Tree Point on Skagit Bay, announced last week over $6 million in grants for infrastructure projects to improve climate resilience in coastal communities across Washington state.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will receive a $701,800 share of the funds, awarded through the National Coastal Resilience Fund, a partnership between NOAA, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and other governmental and private sector partners.

The program provides competitive grants to support projects that restore, increase and strengthen natural infrastructure in coastal communities while also enhancing fish and wildlife habitats.

These grants were funded in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included major investments in fish recovery and coastal resiliency projects supported by Sen. Murray, now in her sixth term and a member of the Democratic senate leadership.

“The National Coastal Resilience Fund is an important collaboration between public and private partners working to conserve precious habitat and make our communities more resilient to a changing climate,” Sen. Murray said.

“I’m excited to announce this funding for the state Department of Ecology, tribes, localities and organizations in Washington state that will help move the ball forward on key conservation efforts – from habitat restoration to reducing flood risks and protecting endangered species,” she added.

The funding for Swinomish is designed to develop a hydraulic model for the Skagit River floodplain to enhance understanding of coastal and riverine flood risk. The project will build capacity for tribes and local communities to advance nature-based solutions to flooding, salmon habitat, restoration and resilience.

DOE has been awarded $850,000 which also stands to enhance Swinomish climate mitigation efforts. The state agency will use its funding to improve coordination across tribal and other entities to implement collaborative resilience restoration efforts using a triple-bottom-line approach that integrates community, habitat and infrastructure resiliency benefits.