$90 million salmon restoration bill clears House
By The Times-Standard

A bill setting aside tens of millions of dollars for salmon restoration programs took a major step forward this week.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved $90 million for salmon restoration projects and other anadromous fish species native to California and the Pacific Northwest, according to a press release issued Wednesday by North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson.

A growing number of salmon and other Northwest fish species have been listed as endangered or threatened by the federal government, with salmon disappearing from nearly half of their traditional spawning streams along the West Coast.

"Habitat loss is one of the primary causes of the drastic decline in salmon and steelhead along California's North Coast," Thompson said in a statement. "Early efforts at the state level have begun the process of increasing those populations. This federal funding is another step forward in our commitment to bringing these fish back."

The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for approval.

Thompson, D-St. Helena, has also introduced the Pacific Salmon Recovery Act, which would set aside $600 million over three years for similar projects across the Pacific Northwest.