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State
Assistance for SFLOs to Correct
Fish Barriers on Their Property
OLYMPIA - Washington's
small forest landowners may be eligible for assistance with the repair,
removal, or correction of barriers associated with stream crossings on
their land. A small forest landowner is a forest owner who harvests
less than two million board feet of timber annually.
State forest management laws require most small forest landowners to
prepare and submit a preliminary checklist Road Maintenance and
Abandonment Plan, which is a forest road inventory and schedule for
repair work needed to bring roads up to state standards. As a state
standard, stream crossings must be free of barriers that prevent fish
from being able to swim upstream to additional habitat during certain
seasons of the year. A fish barrier is a structure in a stream, such as
a small culvert under a forest road.
Removing barriers and constructing adequate corrections is very costly.
To help landowners with technical and financial aspects of compliance
with this standard, the state Legislature established the Family Forest
Fish Passage Program in 2003. Under this program, the state provides 75
to 100 percent of the cost.
The Family
Forest Fish Passage Program is administered through the Small Forest
Landowner Office at the Washington State Department of Natural
Resources, the Recreation and Conservation Office, and the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife. The partners work with local
sponsors, such as conservation districts, tribes, and regional
fisheries enhancement groups to manage construction of each project.
Application deadline: June 30, 2008
Applications
for 2009 projects will be accepted until June 30, 2008. Small
forest landowners who wish to have their fish barrier considered for
funding and completion in the summer of 2009 must apply by June 30.
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