Island County has been awarded $13,000 to work with the Tulalip Tribes to collect data to protect salmon rearing coastal streams.

The National Estuary Program Watershed Protection and Restoration Grant will pay for the majority of the project in addition to $2,600 in county match hours.

The tribes have developed a predictive model to identify coastal streams that are likely to have juvenile salmon rearing present within the Whidbey Basin, an area comprising eastern Whidbey and Camano islands, and the mouths of the Skagit and Snohomish rivers.

The results of the model and collected data will be incorporated into the state’s Water Resource Inventory Area map. The information will also be used to develop and implement programs in the county’s critical areas and to develop coastal streams best management practices.

Tulalip Tribes are partnering with Island County, Skagit River System Cooperative, Northwestern Indian Fisheries Commission, Whidbey Watershed Stewards and Adopt-A-Stream Foundation.